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Billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced monumental giving to support historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), with her recent donations surpassing $700 million. Her latest round of contributions, made in 2025, is one of the most significant infusions of private capital into Black higher education.
Scott has distributed sizeable, unrestricted gifts to more than a dozen HBCUs, empowering each institution to allocate the funds according to their most pressing needs. She has emphasized trust in the leadership of these schools, allowing them full autonomy over how to spend the money.
Among her largest recent commitments is an $80 million donation to Howard University, one of the most prestigious HBCUs in the country. A portion of that gift is earmarked for the medical school to support research, infrastructure and healthcare education. This marks one of the biggest single gifts in Howard’s 158-year history.
She also donated $63 million to Morgan State University, another historically Black institution, which the school plans to apply toward bolstering its endowment, supporting students in need and expanding academic and research programs. For both Morgan State and Howard University, Scott’s gifts represent unprecedented capital support.
In a major contribution through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), she gave $70 million to strengthen a pooled endowment serving the UNCF’s 37 member HBCUs. The pooled fund is designed to establish a long-term financial foundation for each institution, with endowment distributions sustaining growth year after year.
Scott’s philanthropy extends beyond those flagship universities. She has also pledged $50 million to Virginia State University, the school’s largest-ever single donation, and $42 million to Alcorn State University, paving the way for deeper investment in scholarship, faculty and infrastructure. Other gifts have gone to institutions such as Alabama State University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Winston-Salem State University.
Her giving philosophy stands out because she makes unrestricted donations, unlike many donors who specify how their money should be used. This trust-based approach gives universities the flexibility to channel the funds into the areas they deem most critical, whether student aid, research, campus upgrades or long-term financial resilience.
Since her divorce in 2019, Scott has pledged to give away a large portion of her wealth through a philanthropic initiative known as Yield Giving. Her sustained support for HBCUs has been transformative, particularly at a time when these institutions continue to face funding challenges and historic disparities.
Her multi-hundred-million-dollar investment in HBCUs is already being hailed by school leaders as a game-changer, not just for individual campuses, but for the greater good of Black higher education and opportunity.
