One of the world’s richest people Jeff Bezos earned the title of top philanthropist United States (US). This week’s The Chronicle of Philanthropy gave the title of Top philanthropist to the founder of Amazon. Bezos has donated US $ 10.1 billion or around Rp 141 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp 14,000 per US $). This donation is related to non-profit activities related to climate change and education.
Additionally, Bezos’ former instinct, MacKenzie Scott ranks second on the list. His donations to various non-profit organizations amounted to US $ 5.7 billion or around Rp.79 trillion.
In fact, Amazon’s fortune generated by Bezos and Scott accounts for more than half of the large donations that make up The Philanthropy’s 50 list. In total, the magazine tracks the US $ 24.7 billion contributed by the top 50 donors. This means up from the US $ 15.8 billion donated in 2019, as quoted from geekwire.
Other Big Names As Philanthropists
Citing geekwire, media tycoon Michael Bloomberg, Nike founder Phil Knight and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey round out the top five list of philanthropists, each of which contributed more than US $ 1 billion in the past year.
Bill and Melinda Gates, for setting the standard for philanthropy in the modern era. They are ranked 13th with a donation of US $ 157 million.
Bezos’ ranking comes a week after announcing his plans to step down as CEO of Amazon in the third quarter of this year. In his message to employees, Bezos specifically points to his philanthropic endeavors. These include the Day 1 Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund – which will attract even more attention after handing over daily fees to AWS CEO Andy Jassy.
“I have never had more energy, and this is not about retirement. I am very excited about the impact that I think these organizations can have,” Bezos wrote, as quoted by geekwire.
In his message, Bezos also cited his ownership of The Washington Post and Blue Origin, his private space company.
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