Founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos plans to donate most of his hefty fortune to charity.
Key Details
- Founder and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is focusing on philanthropy and announced his plans of giving away most of his money in his lifetime.
- Bezos says he is focusing on climate change and will give his money to charities of the cause and will support those who seek to unify people amid wide social and political divisions, according to CNN.
- In recent years he has become more devoted to philanthropy and this is his first major pledge.
Why it’s news
Jeff Bezos is among the richest people in the world—worth about $125 billion. He is the founder and previous CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon.
In recent years he has begun to devote more time to philanthropy focusing on climate change. He has made his biggest announcement yet saying in his lifetime he plans on giving away the majority of his networth to the cause.
He stepped down as CEO of Amazon last year and since then has given billions to different charities.
In 2020 he created the Bezos Earth Fund that was created as a commitment of $10 billion from Jeff Bezos to be disbursed as grants within the current decade. The fund is committed to fighting climate change and protecting nature, according to its website.
In 2021, he also announced a $200 million donation to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The donation was the largest gift given to the Smithsonian since1846. A $70-million portion of the donation will support the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million will launch a new education center at the museum, according to the Smithsonian.
In 2021 he also created the Courage and Civility award that gives someone $100 million to put into the charity of their choosing. This year the award was given to music legend Dolly Parton.
Before Parton the award was given to chef Jose Andres, whose World Central Kitchen feeds people in areas of disaster, and Van Jones, the founder of Dream.Org.