Amazon’s Bezos to start $2 billion charitable fund

SEATTLE — Amazon founder and CEO 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 nonprofits that help homeless families.

Bezos, whose stake in Amazon is worth about $160 billion, says 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 play-based learning that caters to individuality and social-emotional development.

Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online book store more than two decades ago, has seen his wealth surge along with Amazon’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.

By choosing to focus his philanthropy on homelessness and early education, Bezos is likely influenced both by his parents’ Bezos Family Foundation and by his adopted hometown of Seattle, however mixed some natives may feel about the city’s growing affordability crisis that’s been largely attributed to the success of Amazon.