A small gesture for Jeff Bezos but a big package for Humanity. Amazon founder and multi-billionaire says he plans to donate most of his wealth to charity during his lifetime in a CNN interview aired Monday. To the question “Do you plan to donate the majority of your fortune during your lifetime?” the entrepreneur answered: “Yes”.
This is the first time that the 58-year-old businessman has made such a commitment publicly. In particular, he did not sign the “Donation Pledge”, an initiative launched in 2010 by Americans Warren Buffett and Bill Gates which encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to charities.
A fortune estimated at 124 billion dollars
According to Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos is currently worth $124 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world. It was once at the top of the charts but its fortunes, largely tied to Amazon’s, have declined as the company’s stock has fallen over the past year.
Jeff Bezos also owns the daily washington postthe space company Blue Origin and the Bezos Earth Fund, a fund dedicated to the planet that he launched in 2020 by endowing it with 10 billion dollars.
His ex-wife leaves a little money
The entrepreneur wants to ensure that his donations are used as efficiently as possible. “We are building the capacity” to do so, he said during the interview where he appeared alongside his partner Lauren Sanchez.
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, whose fortune is estimated at nearly $24 billion, has already pledged to donate at least half of her wealth to charity by signing in 2019, shortly after his divorce, the “Promise of donation”.
She had shaken up the world of philanthropy in early 2021 by donating $6 billion to various organizations with no restrictions or requirements attached to her contributions.