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Last month, we learned that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' ex-wife Mackenzie Scott donated $84.5 million to the Girl Scouts of the USA, making it the largest ever individual donation to the organization. In March, Scott also donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates.
These are just two examples of the more than $14 billion Scott has donated to more than 1,500 organizations.
Amidst Scott's recent generous giving, CNN asked Bezos if he, too, planned to give away most of his wealth.
Bezos replied:
"Yeah, I do."
Bezos is focused on fighting climate change and supporting organizations and individuals who also support and give back to others.
Last week Bezos presented Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dolly Parton with the Courage and Civility Award, granting Parton the ability to donate $100 million to the charities of her choice, courtesy of Bezos.
\u201cWe\u2019ve just announced a new Courage and Civility award recipient \u2014 @DollyParton, who leads with her heart, and will put this $100 million award to great use helping so many people. She joins prior awardees, @VanJones68 and @Chefjoseandres. Congrats, Dolly!\u201d— Jeff Bezos (@Jeff Bezos) 1668292163
In light of Bezos announcing he would be donating much of his fortune to good causes, many joked Elon Musk must be following in Bezos' footsteps as he, too, seems to be giving away billions of dollars.
\u201cJeff Bezos joins Elon Musk in giving away all of his billions\u201d— Alex Barredo \ud83d\udcc9 (@Alex Barredo \ud83d\udcc9) 1668425733
After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, Musk's plans to make Twitter more profitable have backfired.
Musk rolled out the infamous $8 blue verification subscription allowing anyone paying the fee to receive the coveted verification symbol regardless of authenticity of the account.
As predicted by many, users took advantage of the status symbol's availability, posing as other companies and making false claims.
Musk was forced to put a pause on the new verification system, and advertisers have begun to pull ads (i.e. $) from the platform.
Unfortunately for Musk, many have found humor in his misfortune and have taken to comparing Musk's losses to Bezos' donations.
I love that the new billionaire race between Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg is now which one will lose all their money first
— El Tlacuache de los Ojos Tristes (@cloaca_dentata) November 11, 2022
\u201chttps://t.co/1pl7VOxQdo\n\nThat\u2019s funny. Musk just flushed his money away. \n\nAmazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to give most of his \u00a3110bn fortune away\u201d— Janet Johnson (@Janet Johnson) 1668428575
\u201cJeff Bezos just announced he is going to be donating his 100 + Billion Net Worth to \u201cfighting climate change and supporting people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions\u201d\n\nMight as well just give it all to @elonmusk then \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Matt Wallace (@Matt Wallace) 1668425673
\u201cBREAKING: Jeff Bezos joins the list of billionaires who have pledged to give away their wealth.\n\nElon Musk is now also on this list, not by choice.\u201d— Smite \u26a1\ufe0f (@Smite \u26a1\ufe0f) 1668456727
\u201cJust Announced!\n\nJeff Bezos is going to be donating his $100 million to charity.\n\nElon musk is going to pay $44 Billion for a company that is now worth $8 Billion.\u201d— Agolf Twitler Slayer (@Agolf Twitler Slayer) 1668449135
\u201cJeff Bezos is apparently going to give away most of his fortune, proving he's always one step behind Elon Musk, who is about to lose ALL of his.\u201d— Trude Perkins \ud83d\udc00 (PARODY OF TRUDE PERKINS) (@Trude Perkins \ud83d\udc00 (PARODY OF TRUDE PERKINS)) 1668448727
\u201cJeff Bezos just announced that he will give away most of his $124b in wealth before his death, mostly to help climate change and global inequality. \n\nMeanwhile\u2026\n\nElon Musk just announced that \u201cTwitter will do a lot of dumb things\u201d.\n\n#mondaythoughts\u201d— Dark Brandon (@Dark Brandon) 1668441433
\u201cJeff Bezos @JeffBezos has announced that most of his fortune will be donated to charity.\n\nIn related news, Elon Musk @elonmusk has announced that most of his fortune will be lost on Twitter.\n\nLove,\n\nRonald Reagan's Wayward Sperm\u201d— Ronald Reagan's Wayward Sperm/DOUCHE MUSK PARODY (@Ronald Reagan's Wayward Sperm/DOUCHE MUSK PARODY) 1668437449
Bezos told CNN that the difficult part of giving away the money is "figuring out how to do it in a levered way."
He continued:
"There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too."
"So you have to think about it carefully and you have to have brilliant people on the team."
We can definitely think of one person Bezos should keep on the bench.
His statement to CNN marks the first time that Bezos pledged to give away most of his fortune.