Jeff Bezos says he will give away most of his fortune

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<p>FILE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is seen on the sidelines before the start of an NFL football game on Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. A former housekeeper for Bezos says she and other employees suffered unsafe working conditions that included being forced to climb out a laundry room window to get to a bathroom. In a lawsuit filed in Seattle this week, a longtime housekeeper claims she was discriminated and retaliated against when she complained about a lack of rest breaks or an area where staff could eat. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)</p> PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Riedel

FILE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is seen on the sidelines before the start of an NFL football game on Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. A former housekeeper for Bezos says she and other employees suffered unsafe working conditions that included being forced to climb out a laundry room window to get to a bathroom. In a lawsuit filed in Seattle this week, a longtime housekeeper claims she was discriminated and retaliated against when she complained about a lack of rest breaks or an area where staff could eat. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Riedel
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Posted By: By Associated Press November 14, 2022

NEW YORK — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime, becoming the latest billionaire to pledge to donate much of his vast fortune.

Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $124.1 billion, made the announcement in a joint CNN interview with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez that was released today. The billionaire didn’t specify how – or to whom – he will give away the money, but said the couple were building the “capacity” to do it.

“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” Bezos said during the interview. “It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work and very smart teammates. And I’m finding – and Lauren’s finding – that philanthropy is very similar. It’s not easy. It’s really hard.”

Previously, Bezos has been criticized for not signing the Giving Pledge, the campaign launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth through philanthropy.

The billionaire stepped down as Amazon CEO last year to devote more time to philanthropy and other projects. He’s pledged $10 billion to fight climate change as part of his Bezos Earth Fund initiative. And according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, he gave $510.7 million to nonprofits last year.

On Saturday, Bezos and Sanchez also announced a no-strings-attached $100 million grant to singer Dolly Parton, who’s been praised for her philanthropic work that helped create the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19. Bezos had given a similar grant to chef José Andrés and CNN commentator Van Jones last year.

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