Jeff Bezos Intends to Donate Majority of His Wealth to Charity Before Passing
In a recent interview with CNN, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said that he intends to give the bulk of his net worth to charity throughout his lifetime. Bezos said he wanted to combat climate change and assist individuals who can bring humanity together. Still, he did not specify how he would divide the funds or precisely what part of his fortune he would give away, according to CNN.
According to CNN, this is the first time Bezos has declared his intention to donate the bulk of his wealth. Chloe Melas, the interviewer, asks Bezos whether he intends to “give away the majority of your wealth in your lifetime” in a segment of CNN’s interview released publicly.
Yeah, I do
The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way… It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work, and a bunch of very smart teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren [Sánchez, Bezos’ partner] is finding the same thing — that philanthropy, is very similar. It’s not easy, it’s really hard.
There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too. We’re building the capacity to give away this money.”
Bezos made a vague commitment, but this is the first time he has said that he intends to donate the majority of his wealth. The Giving Pledge, a commitment by hundreds of the world’s wealthiest individuals to contribute the bulk of their money to philanthropic organizations, has drawn criticism for Bezos’ refusal to join it. Despite being the world’s fourth-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos has not established a specific goal for how much money he wants to donate over his lifetime.
Bezos has given the Bezos Earth Fund, which Sánchez (his wife) co-chairs, $10 billion over ten years, or around 8% of his current net wealth. Its top priorities include lowering the carbon footprint of building-grade cement and steel, pressuring financial regulators to take climate-related risks into account, developing data and mapping technologies to monitor carbon emissions, and constructing massive, naturally occurring plant-based carbon sinks.
However, the e-commerce behemoth Bezos built and the source of the bulk of his fortune, Amazon, has a chequered history regarding environmental protection. According to its most recent sustainability report, Amazon’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by 18% between 2020 and 2021, despite Bezos setting a 2040 goal for the corporation to achieve carbon neutrality.
Regardless of the advantages and disadvantages, it is inevitable that others on a broader scale will profit from Jeff’s revelation, depending on how his money is dispersed.
