The Most Surprising Thing Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett Have in Common
Written by
Ellie Diamond
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett are billionaire business leaders with assets worth around $254 billion and $146 billion, respectively. Bezos is most famous as the founder of Amazon, which in 2024 became the fifth U.S. company in history to reach a $2 trillion valuation. Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, made his billions through compounding investments.
Their wealth is world-famous, but they share another more altruistic quality. Both have committed to donating significant shares of their wealth to charitable causes.
Bezos’s Charitable Shift
In November 2022, Bezos told CNN he planned to donate most of his billions to fighting climate change and uniting a socially divided world. By then, both of his major initiatives had already been active for at least two years.
Bezos Day One Fund
When Bezos publicly committed to charitable giving, his Day One Fund was already four years old. He launched the fund in 2018 with a $2 billion donation, dedicating the money to helping under-resourced communities.
Day One consists of the Families and Academies Funds, two separate but related missions. The Day One Families Fund supports organizations and individuals doing transformative work for families experiencing homelessness. As of 2024, it had distributed 248 awards worth almost $750 million.
The Day One Academies Fund builds tuition-free preschools in low-income communities. The schools offer year-round programming to children ages 3 through 5, five days per week. Children experiencing homelessness and those in foster care receive priority in the enrollment lottery.
Bezos Earth Fund
Bezos created the Earth Fund in February 2020 with a $10 billion commitment — the largest philanthropic commitment ever to target climate change, according to the fund’s website.
The fund has distributed $2.3 billion to innovative programs working toward long-term, transformative sustainability. Areas of focus include nature conservation, food systems, decarbonization and environmental justice.
Buffett’s Charitable Legacy
While Bezos’s commitment to seven- and eight-figure giving is in its first decade, Buffett is one of the movement’s forefathers. He created the Susan Thomas Buffett Foundation in 1964, decades before he became a multi-billionaire.
The Giving Foundation
Buffett’s philanthropy has grown along with his wealth. In 2006, he committed to gradually donating all of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to charity. That promise included a $30 billion gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which Buffett chose for its level of impact.
Four years later, he joined Bill and Melinda Gates in co-creating the Giving Pledge, which challenges wealthy individuals to pledge at least 50% of their respective fortunes.
Recent Charitable Commitments
Buffett’s charitable commitment continues to make headlines. He distributes approximately 4% of his Berkshire shares annually and has made several gifts of six or seven figures each. In 2023, he became one of the year’s two most significant givers when he donated approximately $541.5 million in stock.
In November 2024, Buffett announced his donation of $1.1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to four charitable foundations. His donations will continue to impact others long after he passes away, and he hopes his children will do the same.
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