Jeff Bezos has recently established a $2 billion Day One Fund to help the homeless and children by creating a network of nonprofit preschools in low-income communities. The philanthropic endeavor was launched with his wife MacKenzie Bezos on September 13th, according to a news item in the Washington Post. Bezos owns the Washington Post newspaper.
In addition, the One Day Fund will focus on a two-pronged approach, Bezos said. The establishment of a “Families Fund” would annually cite organizations and civic groups that were providing shelter and hunger support for young families in need.
An “Academies Fund” would also be launched to open and operate full-scholarship Montessori-type preschools in poor communities.
Compared to other well-known billionaires like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and others, Jeff Bezos has not always made a huge mark when it came to supporting charities.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reveals that Bezos has a personal fortune of $163.8 billion. His critics, including United States Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have claimed that as a person with such incredible wealth, Bezos has not given back enough to his community.
Sanders took to social media’s Twitter in early September tweeting that Jeff Bezos wasn’t paying Amazon employees enough and that many of them had to survive on public housing, food stamps and Medicaid.
Bezos, 54, is not sure exactly how his legacy will be formed and what percentage of his vast fortune he would commit to philanthropic initiatives. However, the businessman recently expressed on Twitter that he wants to spread goodwill across the globe and to better society for coming generations.
For Bezos, that means beginning early in life and helping to provide kids with educational opportunities before they attend kindergarten and beyond.
In the meantime, 20-year-old Amazon is fast on becoming the world’s first trillion dollar company. The online, one-stop shop has taken hits from those who think it’s become too big, but Jeff Bezos believes that huge companies like his serve tremendous value and that politicians should never demonize business.
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