Elon Musk agrees with what Jeff Bezos says about philanthropy.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said in his interview with CNBC that his business benefits society more than his philanthropy. It seems that Elon Musk has agreed to this. “If I do my job right, the value to society and civilization from my for-profit companies will be far greater than the good I do through my charitable giving,” Bezos said.“I get messages from new moms all the time saying, ‘We don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have Amazon, thank you,’ or what we did in the pandemic when people were actually able to see the essential service we were already providing for them,” Bezos said. “And that’s how Amazon and all companies create jobs.”Elon Musk in particular shared this clip and told the internet that he also agrees with Bezos.Forbes estimated that Bezos donated more than $2.4 billion to charity in his lifetime. Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, have committed $10 billion to the Bezos Earth Fund by 2030, and have donated $2.4 billion as of February. They also run a chain of free nurseries and provide temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness through the Day One Families Fund. Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, has donated more than $26 billion to charities to date.
In 2025, she gave away more than any other person on Earth, giving away 46% of her total wealth.
Here’s how social media users reacted
- Social media users debated whether what Bezos said was the most honest thing one of the richest people has ever said or just the most appropriate thing to say.
- One wrote that unless they donate money to politicians, they are too generous.
- Another wrote: “I’d rather they didn’t do any charity work when they do this and we end up with mutant ticks.”
- Disgusting and deeply hypocritical. A third user wrote that for-profit companies exist to maximize profit, not to serve humanity.
