Jeff Bezos Pledges $10 Billion to Slow Climate Change

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will pledge $10 billion to resist climate change, in a new fund called the Bezos Earth Fund, according to an Instagram post.

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Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. 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.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ - Jeff

A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on Feb 17, 2020 at 10:00am PST

Bezos Commits to Fight Climate Change

Bezos announced the new $10 billion fund through an Instagram post. Amazon has since confirmed that the fund is the real deal, according to The Verge.

In the post, Bezos said the money will fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and "any effort that offers a real possibility" to help preserve the Earth from the impact of climate change.

"We can save the Earth," said Bezos. "It's going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals."

At the moment, there aren't any further details as to why Bezos shared the news on Instagram. But for now, it's unclear what stipulations will apply for would-be applicants.

Bezos Earth Fund in context

Bezos' total market value is roughly $130 billion, which means his $10-billion commitment of philanthropy is only roughly 7.7% of his net worth. Bezos is also CEO of Amazon, which is why it's interesting to note that the total commitment of the Bezos Earth Fund is the same value as a U.S. military contract with Microsoft — recently halted by court order — at the behest of Amazon.

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," Bezos said. "I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share."

While Bezos has not been as historically vocal as other tech billionaires about interest in philanthropy, he did, however, launch a network of free nonprofit preschools in 2018, to be constructed in low-income communities. In 2017, Bezos opened a poll on Twitter for philanthropy ideas capable of helping those in need in the near-term future.

This is still developing news, but be sure to stay in-the-know here, as the financial powerhouses of the world work to meet public demands for action, to fight climate change.