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| Amazon founder Bezos plans to donate most of his fortune to charity |
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNN he plans to donate most of his net worth to charity during his lifetime.
In the CNN report, Bezos did not specify how the money would be distributed or how much wealth it would give, but said he wanted to fight climate change and support those who can unite humanity.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Amazon founder is said to be the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of $124 billion.
CNN reported that this is the first time Bezos has announced his intention to share most of his fortune.
In an excerpt from the interview published by CNN, interviewee Chloe Millas wondered, "Are you going to give away most of your fortune in your life?" Bezos replied, "Yes." He added, “The hard part is figuring out how to do it.” Making it sustainable… is not easy. Building Amazon is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work, a very smart group of me and my commitment to philanthropy. Business views are similar. It's not easy, it's really hard."
Bezos' comments made him the youngest billionaire to say he would give up some or all of his fortune for philanthropy. In particular, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he plans to donate his entire fortune, which is currently estimated at $114 billion, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, believed to be the world's largest charitable foundation.
Gates also co-founded the Giving Pledge, a movement that encourages the world's richest people to donate most of their wealth to charity.
Bezos, who previously devoted much of his fortune to philanthropy, announced the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and pledged to spend $10 billion to help fight climate change.
Notably, the e-commerce giant founded Bezos and made most of its fortune, and Amazon has an unstable environmental record. According to the latest sustainability report, Amazon's carbon emissions increased by 18% between 2020 and 2021, although Bezos announced in 2019 that he intended to make the company carbon neutral by 2040.
Bezos stepped down as CEO of the company last year and is now chairman of the board.