Billionaire Jeff Bezos has claimed that he will give away the majority of his wealth within his lifetime.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, the Amazon founder said he plans to donate most of his net worth to fight climate change and support “people who can unify humanity.”
According to Forbes, Bezos, 58, is the second richest person alive, behind Elon Musk. Bezos’ net worth is about US$171 billion, as per the outlet.
Bezos provided very few specific details about how he plans to distribute his wealth to charity and made no mention of exactly how much capital he will give up.
“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” Bezos told CNN. He was interviewed alongside his partner journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez.
Bezos said philanthropy is “not easy,” and claimed he and his team are “building the capacity to give away this money.”
He also spoke about a need to connect people who are currently divided because of polarizing American politics.
On Saturday, Bezos and Sánchez awarded country singer Dolly Parton US$100 million as part of the Courage and Civility award. The grant money is to be allocated to a charity of Parton’s choosing.
Bezos and Sánchez personally presented the award to Parton, who is well-known for her philanthropy and charity work. Sánchez said the award “recognizes leaders who aim high, find solutions and who always do it with civility.”
As she accepted the award on stage, Parton, 76, joked, “Wow! Did you say $100 million!?”
“When people are in a position to help, you should help,” she said. “I’ve always said that I try to put my money where my heart is.”
In 2020, Parton donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 research. She is credited with playing a role in the successful development of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.
Parton launched Imagination Library in 1995 to provide children in the area of her Tennessee home free books every month. Since establishing Imagination Library, the literacy program has donated over one million books.
The singer’s Dollywood Foundation also makes regular charitable contributions, namely donating $1,000 per month, for six months, to Tennessee families who lost their homes in a 2016 wildfire.
The annual Courage and Civility award has previously been given to TV host and climate activist Van Jones and Spanish chef José Andrés, who spent some of the money to prepare meals for displaced Ukrainians.
In recent years, several billionaires, including Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, have signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign which encourages extremely wealthy people to donate their expansive net worth’s for philanthropic good. Bezos himself did not sign the pledge.
On Monday, Forbes reported that Scott has donated $14.4 billion since her 2019 divorce from Bezos.
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