Amazon's Jeff Bezos donated richest gift of 2020
The Bezos Earth Fund is designed to fight climate change
Chalk up another win for the world's richest man — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has topped the list for the largest charitable donation of 2020.
According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bezos' $10 billion gift — known as the Bezos Earth Fund designed to fight climate change — topped the list. In November, Bezos announced the first 16 grants from the Bezos Earth Fund, totaling $791 million to 16 different organizations.
The donation, first unveiled in February, is one of the largest individual donations made so far to fight the effects of climate change.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 201.70 | -0.91 | -0.45% |
JEFF BEZOS DEDICATED BLUE ORIGIN LANDING SHIP TO MOM
At the time, Bezos, whose current net worth is more than $185 billion, said "climate change is the biggest threat" to Earth and the money he was donating will "fund scientists, activists, [non-government organizations] — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world."
"We can save Earth," Bezos continued. "It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together."
In February 2020, a study was published that said extreme weather events caused by climate change could result in an economic recession "the likes of which we've never seen before."
The list of the largest 2020 charitable donations also includes notable contributions from a number of other corporate titans.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, came in second and third, with their $900 million and $300 million donations to the Knight Foundation and the University of Oregon. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made the fourth-largest donation at $250 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life.
Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank came in fifth, with a $200 million gift to build a new hospital in Atlanta.
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Absent from the list is MacKenzie Scott, Bezos' ex-wife, who made nearly $6 billion in cumulative charitable donations during the year. However, none of her single donations was large enough to get on the list.
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