The fourth richest man in the world has 124 billion dollars. Where will he give them away?
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has said he plans to give away most of his $124 billion net worth in his lifetime, he said in an interview with CNN.
Bezos assured that his interests are in giving his money to combat climate change and “support people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions.
Although Bezos’ promise was light on details, this is the first time he has announced that he plans to give away most of his money. Critics have chided Bezos for not signing the Giving Pledge, a pledge by hundreds of the world’s richest people to donate most of your wealth to charitable causes,” they explained from CNN.
The statements were made in an interview last Saturday at Bezos’ home in Washington, DC. Along with his partner, journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sanchez, the billionaire said the couple is “building the capacity to be able to give away this moneyAsked directly by CNN if he intends to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime, Bezos said, “Yes, I will.”
The 20-minute exchange with Bezos and Sánchez covered a wide range of topics, from Bezos’ views on political dialogue and a possible economic downturn to Sánchez’s plan to visit outer space with an all-female crew and his thoughts. over one flourishing trade association with Bezos.
As for who would be the beneficiary, both referred to the fight against climate change, together with the “political unity”. “Unity, Bezos said, is a trait that will be necessary to confront climate change and that he repeatedly invoked while criticizing politicians and social media for amplifying division,” CNN quotes.
How to donate
Interestingly, the couple’s biggest challenge may be discovering how to distribute the great fortune of Bezoswhich also did not give a specific percentage.
Despite being the fourth richest person in the world, according to the Forbes Billionaires Index, Bezos refrained from setting a specific amount to give away in his lifetime.
“The hard part is finding the way to do it in a leveraged wayhe said, hinting that even as he gives away his billions, he’s still looking to maximize his return.
“It’s not easy. Building Amazon wasn’t easy. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of very smart teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding, and I think Lauren is finding the same thing, that charity, philanthropy, It’s very similarhe declared.
“There are a lot of ways that I think you could also do ineffective things,” he added. “So you have to think about it carefully and you have to have brilliant people on the team”.
Bezos’ methodical approach to giving stands in stark contrast to that of his ex-wife, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who recently donated nearly 4 billion dollars to 465 organizations in less than a year.
The priorities
As he explained, among his priorities are reducing the carbon footprint of cement and steel for construction, putting pressure on financial regulators to consider weather-related risksadvancing data and mapping technologies to monitor carbon emissions, and building large-scale natural plant-based carbon sinks.
Although Bezos is now the CEO of Amazon (AMZN) and not its CEO (he stepped down from that role in 2021, replaced by Andy Jassy), he is still involved in greening the company. Amazon is one of the most 300 companies who have committed to reducing their carbon footprint by 2040 in accordance with the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement, Bezos said.
However, Amazon’s (AMZN) footprint grew by 18% in 2021, reflecting a pandemic-driven increase from the trade boom. Bezos likened his philanthropic strategy to his years-long effort to build a “titanic e-commerce and cloud computing engine” that has made him a one of the most powerful people in the world.
