Lauren Bezos’ Latest Power Move Using Jeff’s Fortune Has Fans Convinced She’s Competing with His Ex-Wife MacKenzie Scott
Jeff Bezos’s wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is stepping into the holiday season with a headline-grabbing philanthropic splash that has revived comparisons to the other woman forever tied to her husband: MacKenzie Scott.
After months of reports about Scott’s history-making donations to HBCUs, it seems that Lauren, herself, is looking to drop a large some of her and her now-husband’s fortune to help others.
During a segment on “Good Morning America,” Sánchez announced a multi-million dollar donation for organizations fighting family homelessness from the Bezos Day One Families Fund, which landed as both a generous gesture and a bold public moment.
Appearing on the morning show beside Kelly Sweeney McShane of Community of Hope, Sánchez spoke with emotion about the urgency of helping families experiencing what she called “temporary homelessness,” emphasizing how shelters can shift an entire trajectory when resources show up at the right moment.
“This year, we’re able to give more than $100 million — it makes a huge impact,” she said, explaining that meeting families across the country “fills my heart” because, as she put it, “When you help a family experiencing temporary homelessness, you’re not just helping one person — you’re helping more than one.”
Lauren Sanchez Bezo was on
Good Morning America 🇺🇸
She’s set up a Non Profit to help Y’all who become Homeless
Isn’t that nice of her
It’s Full Circle ⭕️ 🤗 from Amazon employees to Homelessness 🥴
Bezos Really Care about Yall & the Robot 🤖 Families 🤗 https://t.co/TzKUb7rtsu pic.twitter.com/SAOxje33Fg— LeilaniSF (@sf_leilani) December 3, 2025
The former journalist also emphasized the structure behind the effort, reminding viewers that the initiative is backed by a $2 billion pledge and guided by advisers who “know what these communities need.”
The rollout was polished, heartfelt, and unmistakably strategic — especially coming months after the couple’s June wedding in Venice, a ceremony so extravagant it frustrated locals and fueled conversations about excess.
It also followed her highly publicized trip to space, a venture that cost tens of millions for 11 minutes above the Earth and added to the perception that they often operate in a rare orbit.
Once “Good Morning America” posted the clip from Sánchez’s appearance, many chimed in, turning an act of generosity into a moment layered with scrutiny. However, the comparisons to Bezos’ first wife came quickly.
One commenter said, “She doesn’t like being overshadowed by MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropic efforts. Jeff’s like, ‘sure, whatever.’”
Another wrote, “She will never compare to Jeff Bezos ex-wife, and she will always live in her shadow because she could never be as honorable and as smart as her predecessor.”
I encourage y’all to read up on her. She was Chief Strategy Officer for Amazon in the early days of the company and ran it along with her husband Jeff Bezos
When they divorced, people tried to make like she was just someone hanging on and not fully entitled to her billions in… https://t.co/6NcuAAg2U9
— 🐢🐢🐢 [email protected] (@HarlemJ11) December 3, 2025
A third insisted, “She would like to be like MacKenzie Scott! But impossible!” Others zeroed in on the interview’s tone, complaining she was a mic hog.
“I wish Lauren would give Kelly the opportunity to discuss her organization more. She’s giving off look at me vibes,” noted a fourth person.
Much of the online reaction returned to Scott’s established giving identity. Following her 2019 divorce from Bezos, Scott received approximately $36 million from the Amazon co-founder.
She has since directed billions to organizations nationwide, including historic gifts to HBCUs and the UNCF. Morgan State University alone has received $63 million from her, and in November, Scott donated $38 million to Spelman College, the No. 1-ranked HBCU for the last 18 years on U.S. News & World Report.
As one of the wealthiest women in the world, Sánchez’s approach is more targeted, tied to the Day One Families Fund she manages with Jeff. The newest $102.5 million in grants will support 32 nonprofits working to stabilize families and secure permanent housing. Her focus is on specificity — programs with measurable outcomes, particularly for groups whose housing insecurity places them at severe risk.
Yet, according to CNBC, Amazon recently confirmed thousands of layoffs across key areas, including major engineering cuts, creating an atmosphere of anxiety that clashed with the upbeat philanthropy rollout.
One viewer leaned directly into that tension, commenting, “Tone deaf. Give them airtime only after they donate half their wealth. Or ask about the mass layoffs that Amazon has done this year alone?????”
Their frustration reflected a widespread feeling that the timing of the interview sat uncomfortably beside headlines about job losses.
Hovering over everything are the divorces that split these lives, fortunes, and philanthropic paths. In the end, the reaction to Sánchez’s interview makes one truth unavoidable: Even when she’s talking about housing families, the contrast between how gluttonous she has seemed and how generous Scott has been continues to follow her every move.
