"I Will Use It for Climate Change and Unity"... Bezos Declares Donation of 165 Trillion Won

Jeff Bezos (left) and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez. (Photo by NYT)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, announced in an interview with CNN on the 14th (local time) that he plans to donate most of his assets. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos's net worth amounts to $124 billion (approximately 165 trillion KRW).

On the day, Bezos held an interview at his home in Washington DC with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez and stated, "I am preparing to donate this money."

When asked if he would donate most of his wealth, he replied, "Yes," adding that "there are too many inefficient ways (of donating)" and that he is looking for ways to maximize the impact of his donations.

Bezos did not specify exactly where he would donate his wealth. He said, "There are many significant problems worldwide. The way to end these major issues is to work together," and mentioned that he would use the donations to support people working on solving climate change and uniting the divided political landscape.

According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, this is the first time Bezos has declared that he will donate a substantial portion of his wealth. He has previously been criticized for not joining "The Giving Pledge," a club of global billionaires who commit to donating at least half of their wealth.

The Giving Pledge, co-founded by Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates and his wife, along with Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, includes over 230 billionaires from 28 countries who have pledged to donate more than half of their wealth. Bezos's ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, is also a participant.

Bezos's previous major donations include a $10 billion pledge in 2020 to fight climate change and about $2 billion for homelessness and children's education.

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and rose to become one of the richest people in the world. Although he stepped down as Amazon's CEO last year, he retained his position as chairman of the board. He currently owns the U.S. daily newspaper The Washington Post (WP) and the private space exploration company Blue Origin.

Meanwhile, in the interview, Bezos warned of a possible economic recession and advised reducing risks.

He expressed concern, saying, "Even if we are not currently in a recession, there is a high possibility that we will enter one soon. The economy does not look good right now. Layoffs are occurring in various economic sectors, and people's (economic) activities are slowing down."

Bezos advised, "My advice is to reduce risks as much as possible. Hold onto cash," adding, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.