News
14th Nov 2022
Jeff Bezos has revealed that he plans to give away most of his $124bn (£110bn) fortune to charity and good causes.
The Amazon founder, 58, is the world’s second-richest man after Elon Musk, the Tesla boss and new owner of Twitter, according to Forbes.
In an interview with CNN, Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez confirmed they were “building the capacity to be able to give away this money.”
Asked directly by interviewer Chloe Melas whether he planned to give most of his money away, Bezos said: “Yeah, I do.”
He said the money would go to causes that work to tackle climate change and to support people who can unify humanity.
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/br4nQKVR3n pic.twitter.com/puR4MFOAAo
— CNN International (@cnni) November 14, 2022
It was the first interview Bezos had done with Sánches since they began dating in 2019.
The announcement comes after Dolly Parton was awarded a $100m (£84.8m) prize by Jthe billionaire to use for charitable causes.
The music legend and philanthropist was awarded the Bezos Courage & Civility Award, which recognises leaders who “pursue solutions with courage and civility.”
We’ve just announced a new Courage and Civility award recipient — @DollyParton, who leads with her heart, and will put this $100 million award to great use helping so many people. She joins prior awardees, @VanJones68 and @Chefjoseandres. Congrats, Dolly! pic.twitter.com/dzTuoGVp3G
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 12, 2022
Bezos has received criticism in the past for not matching the charitable donations of other billionaires.
Despite being the second-richest person on the planet, he has not yet signed the Giving Pledge. This is a campaign set up by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage the mega-rich of the world to contribute a majority of their wealth to charity and philanthropic causes.
As of June 2022, 236 people have signed the pledge, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and George Lucas.
Related links:
By Ryan Price
