Jeff Bezos Plans to Give Away the Bulk of His Fortune, New Grant of $100 Million to Dolly Parton The Amazon founder is worth a whopping $121.1 billion.
By Sam Silverman •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is giving back in a big way, and Dolly Parton is first on his list.
The second richest man in America, with a net worth of $121.1 billion per Forbes, said he plans to give away the bulk of his fortune in his lifetime while speaking with CNN. Alongside his partner Lauren Sanchez, the couple said they are "building the capacity to be able to give away this money" to help climate change and other various humanitarian efforts.
While he didn't divulge exactly how he plans to divvy up his riches, he awarded Dolly Parton $100 million after honoring the country artist and philanthropist with his Courage and Civility Award on Saturday.
The award is given to those who "lead with heart," Bezos said on Twitter.
We've just announced a new Courage and Civility award recipient — @DollyParton, who leads with her heart, and will put this $100 million award to great use helping so many people. She joins prior awardees, @VanJones68 and @Chefjoseandres. Congrats, Dolly! pic.twitter.com/dzTuoGVp3G
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 12, 2022
"When you think of Dolly," Sánchez said while speaking with CNN, "Look, everyone smiles, right? She is just beaming with light. And all she wants to do is bring light into other people's worlds. And so we couldn't have thought of someone better than to give this award to Dolly, and we know she's going to do amazing things with it."
Parton is only the third recipient of the award, joining chef Jose Andrés who used his winnings to help make meals for Ukrainians, and CNN's Van Jones who has yet to disclose how he is distributing his award.
Dolly has yet to reveal exactly what she plans to do with her award.
Parton has several foundations including The Dollywood Foundation and The Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which support children's education, according to Fox Business. Additionally, she also helped fund the COVID-19 vaccine Moderna.
I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money Thank you @JeffBezos #LaurenSanchez https://t.co/8RHh51z3jT
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 13, 2022
