Jeff Bezos announces $2 billion charity focused on homelessness, preschool education

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 13 September 2018

Jeff Bezos has a new mission, and he's throwing $2 billion into the mix to get it started.

Bezos and his wife Mackenzie have launched the Bezos Day One Fund to fight homelessness and fund preschool education, the Amazon founder announced Thursday. It's the biggest charitable contribution yet from the world's richest man.

Bezos' $167 billion net worth makes him one of a handful of the world's wealthiest people who hasn't joined The Giving Pledge, which devotes signers to giving a majority of their money away over the course of their life. Instead, Bezos tweeted last June that he'd rather help people "here and now," asking for suggestions to spark his philanthropic activity. A year later, Bezos has revealed two areas he's decided to focus his giving on.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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