The fourth richest man in the world Jeff Bezos spoke for the first time about his plans to donate the majority of his fortune throughout his life. Although he did not set a goal, he said that he is interested in the money going to combat climate change and support social causes.
Amazon founder and one of the world’s richest men Jeff Bezos said he plans to give away most of his $124 billion net worth over the course of his life to fight climate change and support causes. social.
In an interview with CNN, Bezos said that he is “building the capacity to be able to give this money away.” Asked by the outlet if he intends to donate the majority of his wealth over his lifetime, Bezos said, “yes, I will.”
Although he didn’t delve further into the subject, this is the first time Bezos has spoken about his plans to donate much of his fortune. It should be remembered that the tycoon has been harshly criticized for not signing the Giving Pledge, one of the promises made by the richest people in the world to allocate most of their wealth to charitable causes.
The news comes after Bezos gave artist and philanthropist Dolly Parton a $100 million donation as part of the 2022 Courage and Charities Award, to be used for charity. He credited Parton for everything she “has done for children, literacy and so many other things.”
Despite being the fourth richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg index, Bezos has refrained from giving a target amount to donate in his lifetime. According to the Bezos Earth Fund, which is co-chaired by his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, the tycoon has agreed to put up $10 billion over 10 years, or about 8% of his current net worth.
Among Bezos’ priorities are reducing the carbon footprint of cement and steel for construction, pressuring financial regulators to consider associated climate risks, advancing data technology to monitor carbon emissions and building carbon sinks at large-scale plant base.