He won’t be able to take his wealth with him to the grave, so tech mogul Jeff Bezos is slated to give away the bulk of his fortune throughout his lifetime.
In a recent interview, Bezos and his partner, philanthropic journalist Lauren Sanchez, stated that they planned to give up most of the former’s $124 billion fortune to charitable institutions. At present, the pair is in the process of preparing the necessary channels for giving away the money.
Dolly Gets $100 Million
Recently, the Amazon founder awarded $100 million to country music superstar Dolly Parton through the Bezos Courage and Civility Award on Saturday, November 12th.
Throughout her career, Parton has actively supported numerous causes, including HIV / AIDS awareness, disaster treatment, animal rights, and cancer treatment. In recent years, however, her philanthropy has focused on basic education and literacy in the United States.
The award was specifically created to recognize leaders in different fields who actively pursue solutions to many of the world’s most pressing issues with courage and diplomacy. Bezos announced who this year’s recipient was through his Twitter account.
Previous recipients of the award include chef-activist Jose Andres, who has brought feeding programs to disaster-affected and war-torn nations, as well as journalist Van Jones of CNN.
Bezos also committed around $10 billion in funds through the Bezos Earth Fund, where he serves as executive chairperson. The said funds will be allocated towards initiatives meant to alleviate the impact of climate change and the development of related solutions.
At last year’s COP 26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the mogul committed a further $2 billion to be used for the restoration of animal habitats, as well as a $2 billion donation pledge to the Day 1 Fund in 2018 to alleviate homelessness in the United States.
A Caveat
However, some experts warn that – like several billionaires before him – Bezos may not put his money where his mouth is.
Maribel Morey, executive director of the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences, stated that while the mogul’s most recent pledge is newsworthy, there is no solid proof that he will come through.
Morey cited how Bezos was not among those who signed the Giving Pledge, a fund initiated by philanthropist Warren Buffett in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where billionaires commit half of their total wealth to philanthropic causes during their lifetime. Ironically, Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, committed most of her post-divorce settlement to the aforementioned fund.
