Jeff Bezos Announces He’s Donating His Wealth to Charity Amid Massive Amazon Layoffs

Jeff Bezos has declared his intention to donate most of his wealth to various charitable causes worldwide.

The Amazon founder has been criticized over the years for failing to lend his massive wealth to critical matters plaguing the world. Currently, worth $124.1 billion, Bezos has even been slammed by Amazon employees for less than favorable working conditions, despite the company’s continued financial growth. Now, the planet’s fourth richest person is ready to make some serious changes.

During an interview with CNN’s Chloe Melas that aired Monday, November 14th, he outlined his plans to “give away this money” to multiple pressing causes. One major issue that will receive a good chunk of Bezos’s resources is the Bezos Earth Fund, which was founded in 2020. Bezos disclosed that he will give non-profit groups, scientists, and activists $10 billion over the next decade “to help preserve and protect the natural world.”

He shared that more funds will go towards unifying citizens everywhere despite deep-rooted social and political disparities. While he did not go into detail about how this will be done, he did announce over the weekend that activist and country music icon Dolly Parton would receive the Bezos Courage and Civility Award. This honor will grant Parton $100 million to give to her chosen charities. Previous recipients of this award include celebrity chef Jose Andrés and CNN contributor Van Jones.

While these gestures are certainly a step in the right direction, they come at a time when Amazon employees could use a good deed from Bezos. The company recently announced that they were laying off about 10,000 employees, most of which staff the retail division and human resources. This mass job cut will be the largest in the company’s history, accounting for three percent of its workforce.

Bezos did not address the layoffs in his sitdown with Melas but did warn Americans of a looming recession and advised people to refrain from making risky purchases in the foreseeable future.