Washington — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced he is launching a philanthropic fund with a $2bn initial commitment to help homeless families and launch pre-schools in low-income communities. The world’s richest individual made the announcement on Twitter a year after asking for ideas on how he could use his personal fortune — now estimated at some $163bn — for charitable efforts. The "Bezos Day One Fund" will contribute to "existing non-profits that help homeless families" and also fund "a network of new, non-profit, tier-one pre-schools in low-income communities," he wrote. Grants will be given to organisations "doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the needs of young families". The fund will also seek to launch and operate "a network of high-quality, full-scholarship, Montessori-inspired pre-schools in under-served communities," he wrote. "We will build an organisation to directly operate these schools." The $2bn initiative,...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.