NEW YORK – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has said he will donate the bulk of his wealth over his lifetime, becoming the latest billionaire to pledge to donate a large portion of his massive fortune.
Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimated at about $124.1 billion, made the announcement in a joint CNN interview with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez that aired on Monday.
The billionaire didn’t specify how – or to whom – he will deliver the money, but said the couple are building the “capacity” to do so.
HE IS THE FOUNDER OF AMAZON AND OWNER OF THE WASHINGTON POST NEWSPAPER
“The hard part is figuring out how to do it correctly,” Bezos said in the interview.
“It’s not easy. Building Amazon hasn’t been easy. It’s taken a lot of hard work and very smart teammates. And I’m finding — and Lauren is finding — that philanthropy is very similar. It’s not easy. It’s very complicated.”
Bezos has come under fire 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 become a formidable force in the world of philanthropy, showering charities across the country with unexpected and often secretive contributions.
Over the past three years, she has given more than $12 billion to historically black colleges and universities, women’s rights groups and other non-profit organizations.
Bezos, who divorced Scott in 2019, stepped down as Amazon chief executive last year to spend more time on philanthropy and other projects.
Among other donations, he pledged $10 billion to fight climate change as part of his Bezos Earth Fund initiative. Last year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, he donated $510.7 million to charity.
On Saturday, Bezos and Sanchez announced they would award an unconditional $100 million grant to singer Dolly Parton, who has been praised for her philanthropic work helping to create Moderna’s vaccine for COVID-19.
Last year Bezos awarded a similar grant to chef José Andrés and CNN commentator Van Jones.