Amazon founder Bezos says will donate most of fortune to charity, For the first time, Amazon founder Jeff Be’zos announced that he will donate the majority of his $124 billion fortune to charity, although he cautioned that it would be challenging to do so successfully. The vow is in line with similar ones made by some of the richest people in the world, including Elon Musk, Bill and Melinda Gates, and others. Be’zos stated that he and his partner Lauren Sanchez were “building the capacity to be able to give away this money” in a CNN interview that was made public on Monday.
Amazon founder Bezos says will donate most of fortune to charity
When asked if he planned to donate the majority of his wealth throughout his lifetime, Bezos, 58, responded, “Yeah, I do.” As a result of his ex-wife, novelist MacKenzie Scott, who promised to contribute half of her enormous wealth after their divorce in 2019, Bezos has been under pressure to make the promise. She had agreed to participate in an initiative known as the Giving Pledge, which was launched in 2010 by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and asks the world’s wealthiest individuals to pledge to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
The Giving Pledge presently has over 230 signatories from 28 nations, including Russian steel tycoon Vladimir Potanin and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. To establish the Be’zos Earth Fund, which he created in 2020 to aid in the fight against climate change and the preservation of biodiversity, Be’zos had pledged $10 billion. The Facebook founder, who is a signatory to the Giving Pledge, and the internet entrepreneur both stressed the need of maximizing returns when it comes to charitable giving. The online tycoon told CNN that he had similar intentions.
Bezos acknowledged in their joint interview that “it’s not simple.” Building Amazon was challenging, and I’m discovering — and I believe Lauren is too — that philanthropy and charity are very similar. He continued, “There are a lot of ways that I think you could do ineffective things. On Saturday, Be’zos and Sanchez announced that Dolly Parton would receive $100 million to donate to charities of her choice.
The Spanish chef Jose Andres and CNN commentator Van Jones were the first two recipients of the Bezos Courage and Civility Award; the country queen was the third. Bezos remarked that Parton “gives with heart” and applauded the “Jolene” and “9-to-5” singer for her support of young readers. This month, the 76-year-old Parton was honored with a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. In 2021, Be’zos resigned from his position as Amazon’s CEO. The Washington Post and the space travel firm Blue Origin are both owned by him.