It’s no secret how much money Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has to spend. In fact, he’s the second richest person in the world, with a net worth of $82.1 billion (albeit a little less than when RCL originally reported that story).
But one question that’s been on a lot of people’s minds is what is Bezos going to do with all those dollars. While peers in the upper-echelon like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates have clear goals for giving away massive portions of their wealth for charitable and other philanthropic purposes, it’s been unclear what Bezos might look like as a philanthropist.
We got a glimpse of what that might look like yesterday, when Bezos took to Twitter with this message:
Request for ideas… pic.twitter.com/j6D68mhseL
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) June 15, 2017
“For philanthropy, I find that I’m drawn to the other end of the spectrum: the right now,” notes Bezos in the tweet. He gives examples of Mary’s Place, a nonprofit organization in Seattle that empowers “homeless women, children, and families to reclaim their lives by providing shelter, nourishment, resources, healing and hope in a safe community,” per the company’s website.
He then prompts his audience—you and me included—to send him ideas.
However, as The New York Times notes, “it failed to answer a question that is likely to follow him more often if and when he becomes the richest man: What are his plans to give away some or all of his wealth?”
Bezos hasn’t signed the Giving Pledge, hasn’t made an appearance on the Philanthropy 50, and doesn’t have a charitable gift–making personal foundation.
It appears that we have the Times to thank, in part, for Bezos’ note. “His Twitter invitation on Thursday came after repeated questions on Wednesday from the Times about his giving levels and the lack of public information on his philanthropy,” noted the newspaper. “A spokesman declined to comment on whether the queries prompted the post.”
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