After stepping down as Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos is still the fourth richest person in the world. But he has announced that wants to donate a large part of this wealth to a good cause.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (58) wants to donate a large part of his fortune to charity during his lifetime. The entrepreneur announced this in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN. A large part of the donations should therefore flow into the fight against climate change. According to the business magazine “Forbes”, Bezos is currently the fourth richest person in the world – with an estimated fortune of around 122 billion US dollars.
Philanthropy is “really difficult,” says Bezos. “We’re building the capacity to give that money away.” The Amazon founder announced the creation of the “Bezos Earth Fund” back in 2020. This should award ten billion US dollars to scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations over a period of ten years to combat climate change.
Ex-wife MacKenzie Scott also in a giving mood
Should Bezos soon support more charitable causes, he would do the same as his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott (52). As part of a 2019 divorce settlement between Bezos and Scott, she received 25 percent of the Amazon stock the couple had jointly owned. A few weeks later, she announced that she wanted to donate gradually “until the safe was empty.” According to media reports, she has donated an estimated $12.8 billion to more than 1,200 organizations to date. Just recently, for example, $84.5 million went to the Girl Scouts of the USA.