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Jeff Bezos declared he plans to donate most of his $124B wealth to charity even as he warned that individuals should “keep some dry powder on hand” against a deteriorating macro backdrop.
The fourth richest man in the world’s affirmative response to a question about donating the bulk of his sizable fortune grabbed headlines across the globe on Monday, marking the first time Bezos has made such a pledge. Bezos had previously been roundly criticized for failing to sign The Giving Pledge, an initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates whereby affluent individuals promise to donate a majority of their wealth. MacKenzie Scott, Bezos’ ex-wife, signed the pledge in 2019.
Elsewhere, Bezos offered general advice on risk management to reinforce his “batten down the hatches” tweet in mid-October.
The former Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO said that Americans should work to build a safety cushion for themselves in general, not only in investments, as macroeconomic conditions deteriorate. Overall, he offered general advice to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst given the slew of major layoffs (including at Amazon) rolling through the market and general slowing evident in the overall economy.
“I don’t know whether we’re technically in a recession, economists argue over that and they have technical definitions, what I can tell you is that the economy does not look great right now,” he told CNN. “The probabilities say that if we are not in a recession now, we are likely to be in one soon. My advice to people is to take some risk off the table right now.”
Read more on FedEx’s decision to furlough workers through the winter.
