Socialites, get a load of this! Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he’ll give away the majority of his $124 BILLION fortune within his lifetime, making it the first time he’s made such a pledge.
Bezos, who is currently the fourth wealthiest person in the world has previously been criticized for not promising to dedicate his fortune to charitable causes. In a new interview with CNN Business, he revealed his plans after donating $100m to the country music star and philanthropist Dolly Parton to use for charitable causes.
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Bezos told CNN “There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too.” He went on to say, lIt took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates and I’m finding that philanthropy is very similar – it’s not easy it’s very hard. We are building the capacity to being able to give away this money. There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too. So you have to think about it carefully and you have to have brilliant people on the team,” Bezos said.
Exclusive: Jeff Bezos tells CNN that he'll give away the majority of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime, the first time he's made such a promise. https://t.co/aqehwBAvw2 pic.twitter.com/hFUdLa9GYZ
— CNN (@CNN) November 14, 2022
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Back in 2020, the Amazon founder announced the formation of the Bezos Earth Fund. It was set up to grant $10 billion over 10 years to scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations with a mission “to help preserve and protect the natural world.” However, until now, Bezos had not officially signed on to the Giving Pledge, which encourages super wealthy individuals to commit to giving away more than half their wealth.
Bezo’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, received 25% of the shares in Amazon that had been jointly held by the couple. She pledged to donate at least half her wealth to charitable causes. According to Forbes, she has donated to more than 1,200 organizations since mid-2020, with her largest single donations going to Habitat for Humanity (a $436 million gift), the Boys and Girls Club of America (a $281 million donation) and Planned Parenthood (a $275 million gift).
Here’s How Social Media Is Reacting To The News
Hey @JeffBezos, even 100k would pay off my family's house, cars, and get my daughter through school for a couple of years. Just saying! 😀 https://t.co/UBRd9AoBDG
— Mark Plemmons (@plebotamus) November 14, 2022
hmmmm. we'll see how that goes in a year https://t.co/MNwMY6utLB
— fér ⚔ (@beavtyschool) November 14, 2022
Don’t let this distract from Amazon planning 10,000 layoffs https://t.co/T5tKcRF6tT
— robin dean (@Robbiepaul_dean) November 14, 2022
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