MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, has put $70 million into ocean-climate solutions: Why it matters

Every time public money for climate work gets shakier, the same question comes up: who steps in?

One answer often surfaces, MacKenzie Scott.

Her big gift went to the sea - She gave $70 million to the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, a Dubai-based, five-year collaboration focused on how the ocean figures in the fight against climate change. If you haven't thought much about why that matters, the short version is that the ocean soaks up an enormous share of the heat and carbon we produce. It also feeds millions of people and protects coastlines.


So, when the planet warms, the ocean takes the first hit.

A cause that's been starved

Ocean work has never attracted huge donations. An Ocean Conservancy executive put it bluntly: philanthropy still treats the ocean like a niche issue, even though it covers 70 percent of the planet. Climate causes in general don't do much better. ClimateWorks found that climate groups got under 2 percent of all philanthropic giving in 2022.

Things are slowly shifting. A separate group of funders has already committed more than $250 million over five years to cut emissions through ocean-based efforts. Scott's money lands in a space that's finally getting some company.

This isn't her first time in the water

She's backed ocean causes before, including a $62 million gift to Blue Ventures, which works with small-scale fishers. And the ocean gift sits inside a broader turn toward climate. In 2025, her largest climate grant, $90 million, went to Forests, People, Climate, which works to stop tropical deforestation.

The numbers behind all this are hard to wave off. She gave away $7.2 billion in 2025, nearly matching the Gates Foundation. Her support for nonprofits in low- and middle-income countries jumped more than twelvefold, with 57 of them landing on her grantee list. Scott herself calls her giving "a vanishingly tiny fraction" of what the world gives. Fair enough, but in six years she's handed over more than $26 billion to over 2,500 organizations. That tops the lifetime giving of Michael Bloomberg, who sits at $21.1 billion.

How Scott gives matters too

Scott's donations usually come with few strings. Organizations get a big check and decide for themselves how to use it. For an alliance mapping out five years of work, that freedom may be worth as much as the dollar amount. Teams can plan instead of scrambling from one small grant to the next.

She also tends to stay out of the spotlight. Recipients announce the donations, so the attention goes to the work.

What comes next

Seventy million dollars may not cool the oceans - but It's a lot of money by philanthropy standards and a drop against the size of the problem.

The real test is what it sets in motion. Will other funders follow? Will island and coastal communities get help adapting sooner? Will ocean-based climate solutions finally get the attention that forests and emissions have enjoyed for years? We will find out.

For now, the message is hard to miss. With the future of government climate funding looking murky, one of the world's most active donors has decided the ocean deserves a serious bet, and by extension, so do the people who depend on it.


Sources:

Our shared seas

Yield Giving

Ocean Economist

Zero Carbon Analytics

FAQs

1. What recent donation did MacKenzie Scott make towards ocean resilience and climate work?
   MacKenzie Scott recently donated $70 million to the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, a Dubai-based collaboration focused on the role of the ocean in combating climate change.
2. How does the ocean contribute to climate change mitigation?
   The ocean absorbs a significant portion of the heat and carbon produced by human activity, supports the livelihoods of millions, and protects coastlines, making it crucial in the fight against climate change.
3. What challenge does ocean-focused philanthropy face compared to other climate initiatives?
   Ocean-related initiatives have historically attracted less philanthropic support, receiving under 2 percent of all climate-related philanthropic giving in 2022, despite covering 70 percent of the Earth's surface.