Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNN he plans to give away most of his $124 billion fortune to charity throughout his lifetime.
Bezos told the publication that he and his girlfriend Lauren Sánchez are “developing the ability to be able to give away this money.” The businessman declined to identify a proportion that he plans to gift, or provide details on where he’d likely direct his money, CNN claimed.
The world’s fourth-wealthiest person has come under fire for what critics have said is a lack of philanthropic emphasis, a problem thrown into stark attention by the humanitarian actions of his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, who divorced Bezos in 2019 and is worth about $24 billion. Unlike many other of the world’s richest people — including Scott — Bezos hasn’t signed the Giving Pledge, a vow to devote most of one’s wealth to charity.
“It’s not easy,” Bezos stated, alluding to donating his money. “Building Amazon was not easy. It required a lot of hard work, a bunch of really clever teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren is finding the same thing — that charity, philanthropy, is quite comparable.”
He said, “There are a variety of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too. So you have to think about it properly and you have to have amazing individuals on the team.”
As part of their vow to donate, the pair awarded a $100 million Courage and Civility award to singer Dolly Parton. The money is to be donated toward charity the recipient sees fit, Sanchez stated Friday when the award was revealed.
“When you think of Dolly,” Sánchez told CNN, “Look, everyone smiles, right? She is just glowing with light. And all she wants to do is bring light into other people’s worlds. Therefore, we could not have dreamed of a more deserving recipient than Dolly, and we are confident that she will achieve incredible things with the prize.”