Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of approximately $240 billion as of October 2025, describes himself as a “lottery winner” and emphasizes that giving away wealth requires as much strategic effort as earning it [1][2]. In a resurfaced 2001 interview, Bezos articulated a philosophy that now defines his approach to philanthropy: effective charitable giving demands careful planning and leveraged impact [2].
The Challenge of Strategic Giving
Bezos warns that poorly planned philanthropy can waste valuable resources. “It’s really easy to give away money in highly unleveraged ways,” he cautioned, emphasizing that building philanthropic capacity is as challenging as building Amazon itself [2][6]. He currently owns approximately 8.6% of Amazon, which has grown into a $2.3 trillion company since its 1994 founding [2].
The billionaire stresses that wealthy individuals have a moral responsibility to think strategically about how their donations create significant, lasting impact rather than pursuing haphazard giving [1][2].
Bezos Earth Fund: $10 Billion Climate Commitment
Bezos established the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 with the largest philanthropic commitment ever made to fight climate change—$10 billion to be disbursed by 2030 [5][8]. As of October 2025, the fund has granted approximately $2.3 billion across 315 grants [8]. The fund focuses on spurring innovation and progress in key areas including climate change mitigation and nature protection [8].
In 2023, the Bezos Earth Fund provided $51 million for development through its grantmaking activities [7]. Recent initiatives include a $37.5 million investment announced in September 2025 to accelerate Pacific-led ocean protection [9]. However, in February 2025, the fund ended its support for the Science Based Targets initiative [2].
Courage and Civility Award and Other Initiatives
Bezos created the Courage and Civility Award, which grants $50 million to individuals supporting humanitarian causes [2][3]. In January 2025, actress Eva Longoria received $100 million through Bezos’s philanthropic efforts to use as she sees fit [5].
In 2018, Bezos pledged $2 billion to support homeless families and education programs through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund [2][5]. By 2023, he had distributed $117 million in grants through this fund, bringing total donations to nearly $640 million for homeless family support [5].
Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez, who co-chairs the Earth Fund, have made several multimillion-dollar charitable donations in recent years [2][6]. Despite these efforts, Bezos has not signed the Giving Pledge—a campaign launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett encouraging billionaires to commit at least half their fortunes to charity [5].
MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropic Leadership
Bezos’s ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, has emerged as one of the most impactful philanthropists of the current era. Through her organization Yield Giving, Scott has donated more than $19 billion to over 2,000 nonprofits since 2019 [2][10]. Unlike Bezos, Scott has signed the Giving Pledge [5].
In September 2025, Scott donated $70 million to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), one of her largest single donations ever and among the first publicly disclosed in 2025 [4]. This contribution supports a $1 billion initiative to strengthen all 37 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The donation will be allocated to UNCF’s collective endowment, targeting a $370 million fund—$10 million for each member HBCU [4].
In October 2025, Scott doubled down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts with a $42 million donation to support low-income students, demonstrating her commitment to no-strings-attached grants [10][11]. Scott is known for her discretion, typically sharing donation details via her website and waiting for recipients to announce gifts before confirming them [4].
Criticism and Ongoing Debate
Despite Bezos’s substantial commitments, critics remain skeptical about the pace and depth of his philanthropy. “He’s committed a large amount of money. But it still feels very, very half-baked,” Benjamin Soskis, a philanthropy researcher at the Urban Institute, told Time [5]. Questions persist about the effectiveness and timing of fund disbursements compared to the urgency of climate and social challenges.
