Jeff Bezos to start $2-B charitable fund

Amazon founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos said Thursday that he is giving $2 billion to start a fund that will open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and give money to non-profits that help homeless families.

Bezos, whose stake in Amazon is worth about $160 billion, says that he’ll call it the Bezos Day One Fund. An Amazon.com Inc. spokeswoman confirmed that the money will all come from Bezos, though there are few details about how the fund will operate.

In a post to his Twitter account, Bezos said one part of the fund will give money to organizations and groups that provide shelter and food to young homeless families. The other part will launch and operate free preschools in low-income communities, where “the child will be the customer.”

It’s not yet known what his preschools will look like except that they will be based on the teaching philosophy of Maria Montessori, which focuses on individual learning and social-emotional development.

Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookstore more than two decades ago, has seen his wealth surge along with Am- azon’s stock. Forbes magazine placed him at the top of its list of billionaires for the first time this year, surpassing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett.

Bezos’ wealth has allowed him to pay for side ventures, including starting space exploration company Blue Origin and buying The Washington Post newspaper.

Initiatives

Bezos hinted earlier this year that he would take on a major philanthropic project after asking his Twitter followers for ideas on how to give away his money. In January, Bezos also personally gave $33 million in college scholarships for young immigrants living in the US illegally.

Bezos has yet to sign The Giving Pledge, an initiative launched by Gates encouraging billionaires to commit to giving away most of their wealth. The Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the world’s largest private non-profit foundation has an endowment worth over $40 billion and has long supported homelessness services for families in the city. This year, Gates also announced it was taking up systemic poverty in the US. /