Climate change has made it onto Bezos’ radar.
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon billionaire and the world’s current richest person, is feeling generous- the billionaire has pledged $10 billion to combat climate change.
The billionaire announced his golden intention on Instagram:
Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund. Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together. - Jeff (Instagram)
The Bezos Earth Fund comes after many years of criticism against the mogul, who was not perceived as particularly charitable.
Details are scarce about how exactly this fund will be structured and the exact type of work that it will fund.
The size of the gift is worth noting.
His pledge marks the second largest charitable gift in recent history.
The only larger pledge of the 21st century was Warren Buffett’s 2006 promise to give the bulk of his net worth — that amounts to $43 billion — to the Gates Foundation, according to records from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Bezos’s $10 billion gift amounts to about 7.5 percent of his current net worth.