Jeff Bezos says he will donate most of his money to charity

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to give away the majority of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime, telling CNN in an exclusive interview that will devote most of its wealth to fighting climate change and supporting the people who can unite humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions.

While Bezos’ pledge was vague on details, it marks the first time he’s announced he plans to donate most of his money.

Critics chided Bezos for not signing the Giving Pledge, a pledge by hundreds of the world’s richest people to donate most of their wealth to charitable causes.

In an interview with Chloe Melas of CNN On Saturday at his home in Washington (DC), Bezos, speaking alongside his partner, journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, said the couple is “building the capacity to be able to donate this money.”

Asked if he intends to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime, Bezos said: “Yes.”

Bezos said he and Sánchez agreed to their first interview together since they started dating in 2019 to help highlight the Bezos Courage and Civility Award, given this year to singer Dolly Parton.

The 20-minute conversation with Bezos and Sánchez covered a wide range of topics, from Bezos’ views on political dialogue and a possible economic recession to Sánchez’s plan to visit outer space with an all-female crew and his reflections on a flourishing business partnership with Bezos.

Dolly Parton Award

That working relationship was on display on Saturday when Bezos and Sánchez announced a $100 million donation to Dolly Parton as part of their Courage and Civility Award. It is the third such award, following similar donations to chef José Andrés, who spent some of the money making meals for Ukrainians – and climate advocate and contributor to CNN Van Jones.

“When you think of Dolly,” Sánchez said in the interview, “look, everyone smiles, right? She’s just radiating light. And all she wants to do is bring light into other people’s worlds. And so we couldn’t have thought of anyone better than to give this award to Dolly, and we know she will do amazing things with it.”

The connecting thread between the Courage and Civility Award fellows, Bezos said, was their ability to bring many people together to solve big challenges.

“I feel honored to be able to be a part of what they are doing for this world,” Bezos told CNN 🇧🇷

Unity, Bezos said, is a necessary trait in tackling climate change and one he has repeatedly invoked when criticizing politicians and social media for amplifying the divide.

How to distribute the fortune

But the couple’s biggest challenge may be figuring out how to distribute Bezos’ vast fortune. The businessman declined to identify a specific percentage or provide concrete details on where it would likely be spent.

Despite being the fourth richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos refrained from setting a target amount to give in his life.

Bezos has committed $10 billion over 10 years, or about 8% of his current net worth, to the Bezos Earth Fund, which Sánchez co-chairs.

Among its priorities are: reducing the carbon footprint of cement and steel for construction; pressuring financial regulators to consider climate-related risks; advancing data and mapping technologies to monitor carbon emissions; and building large-scale natural plant-based carbon sinks.

Although Bezos is now the executive chairman of Amazon rather than its CEO – he stepped down from that role in 2021 – he is still involved in the ESG part of the company.

Amazon is one of more than 300 companies that have committed to reducing their carbon footprint by 2040 under the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement, Bezos said, although Amazon’s footprint grew 18% in 2021, reflecting a boom in linked commerce. to the pandemic.

Amazon’s calculation of its own effect on the climate reflects its outsized impact on everything from debates over unionization to antitrust policy, where the company has attracted an enormous level of scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers and civil society groups.

Bezos likened his philanthropic strategy to his years-long effort to build a titanic e-commerce and cloud computing engine that made him one of the most powerful people in the world.

“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a leveraged way,” he said, hinting that even as he doles out his billions, he still seeks to maximize his return.

“It’s not easy. Building Amazon wasn’t easy. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of really smart teammates, hard working teammates, and I’m finding – and I think Lauren is finding the same thing – that charity, philanthropy, is very similar.”

“There are a number of ways I think you can 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 to 465 organizations in less than a year.

The economic downturn

As Bezos and Sánchez lay out their plans for Bezos’ immense wealth, many people of more modest means are bracing for what economists fear could be a prolonged economic downturn.

Last month, Bezos tweeted a warning to his Twitter followers, recommending that they “open the hatches.”

The advice was aimed at business people and consumers alike, Bezos said in the interview, suggesting that individuals should consider delaying the purchase of big-ticket items they have their eyes on — or that companies should slow down their acquisitions and capital spending.

“Take some risk from the table,” Bezos said. “Keep some dry powder on hand… Just a little risk reduction can make a difference to this small business if we get into even more serious economic trouble. You have to play a little with the odds.”

Many may be feeling the pinch now, he added, but argued that, as an optimist, he believes the American dream “is and will be even more attainable in the future” — projecting that, within Bezos’ lifetime, space travel could become widely accessible to the world. public.

The partnership of Bezos and Sánchez

Sánchez said the couple are “really great teammates,” although she laughed: “We can be kind of boring,” Sánchez said. Bezos smiled and replied, “It’s never boring.”

Sánchez, the founder of Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned and operated aerial production and filming company, is a trained helicopter pilot. She said in the interview that they both took turns in the driver’s seat.

Bezos credited his own journey into space for helping to inspire his effort to fight climate change. Now it’s Sanchez’s turn.

Sánchez told CNN who hopes to venture into orbit sometime in 2023. And while she didn’t directly say who will join her — quickly dismissing Bezos as a crewmate — she said simply, “It’s going to be a large group of women.”

The Washington NFL Team

Bezos may be adding the NFL owner to his resume. THE CNN recently reported that Bezos and Jay-Z are in talks over a potential joint offer from Washington’s commanders.

It’s unclear whether the two have spoken to Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya, the current owners of the NFL team, about the possibility.

But during the interview on Saturday, Melas asked Bezos if the speculation was true.

“Yeah, I heard that buzz,” Bezos said with a smile.

Sánchez joined the conversation with a laugh: “I like football. I’m just going to throw it out there for everyone.”

Bezos added: “I grew up in Houston, Texas and played football as a kid… and it’s my favorite sport… so we’ll have to wait and see.”

– CNN’s Chloe Melas contributed to this report