Jeff Bezos, Once The World’s Richest, To Donate Majority Of His Wealth To Charitable Causes

During the interview, Bezos divulged that most of his donations will go toward fighting climate change and to people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions, reported Variety. Bezos said that philanthropy "is really hard" and "we're building the capacity to be able to give away this money."

Written by: India.com Business Desk

Published: November 15, 2022, 7:48 AM IST

Share

Share Article

• Facebook
• WhatsApp
• X
• Email
• Telegram
• Linkedin

https://www.india.com/business/jeff-bezos-once-the-worlds-richest-to-donate-majority-of-his-wealth-to-charitable-causes-5743387/ Copy

जेफ बेजोस

Washington: Jeff Bezos, the founder and Executive Chairman of Amazon, who is among the richest people in the world, has revealed what he ultimately plans to do with his fortune of billions of dollars. According to Variety, in an interview with CNN, the billionaire said he plans to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes within his lifetime. With an estimated net worth of USD 124.1 billion, Bezos is the fourth richest person in the world, as per Forbes.

During the interview, Bezos divulged that most of his donations will go toward fighting climate change and to people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions, reported Variety. Bezos said that philanthropy “is really hard” and “we’re building the capacity to be able to give away this money.”

Bezos, who stepped down as CEO of Amazon in July 2021, owns slightly less than 10 per cent of the company’s shares along with the Washington Post and aerospace company Blue Origin.

In 2020, Jeff Bezos announced the formation of the Bezos Earth Fund, which he set up to grant USD 10 billion over 10 years to scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations “to help preserve and protect the natural world.” However, as of now, Bezos had not officially signed on to the Giving Pledge, which encourages high net-worth individuals to commit to giving away more than half their wealth, according to Variety.

This news of Bezos’ philanthropy comes even amid reports of Amazon’s plans to layoff around 10,000 employees this week as part of company’s cost-cutting mechanism. According to the New York Times, this layoff is said to be one of the largest job cuts in the company’s history to focus on the company’s devices organization, retail division and human resources.

(With agency inputs)