Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime, becoming the latest billionaire to pledge to donate much of his vast fortune.
Bezos, whose 鈥渞eal-time鈥� worth Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $124.1 billion, made the announcement in a joint CNN interview with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez that was released on Monday. The billionaire didn鈥檛 specify how - or to whom - he will give away the money, but said the couple were building the 鈥渃apacity鈥� to do it.
鈥淭he hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,鈥� Bezos said during the interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work and very smart teammates. And I鈥檓 finding - and Lauren鈥檚 finding - that philanthropy is very similar. It鈥檚 not easy. It鈥檚 really hard.鈥�
Bezos had been criticized in the past for not signing the Giving Pledge, the campaign launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth through philanthropy.
His ex-wife McKenzie Scott signed that pledge in 2019 and has since emerged as a formidable force in the world of philanthropy, showering charities throughout the country with unexpected - and often secretive - contributions. In the past three years, she鈥檚 given more than $12 billion to historically Black colleges and universities, women鈥檚 rights group and other nonprofits.
Bezos, who divorced from Scott in 2019, stepped down as Amazon CEO last year to devote more time to philanthropy and other projects. Among other donations, he鈥檚 pledged $10 billion to fight climate change as part of his Bezos Earth Fund initiative. Last year, he gave $510.7 million to charity, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
On Saturday, Bezos and Sanchez announced they will give a no-strings-attached $100 million grant to singer Dolly Parton, who鈥檚 been praised for her philanthropic work that helped create the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19. Bezos had given a similar grant to chef Jos茅 Andr茅s and CNN commentator Van Jones last year.
Associated Press, The Associated Press
