Here’s how much of their wealth some of the richest Silicon Valley billionaires are donating to fight the coronavirus

Jack Dorsey David Becker/Getty Images

Silicon Valley billionaires are collectively pledging billions of cash out of their personal fortunes towards aid capital against the devastating impact of the coronavirus.
Last week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced he was donating $1 billion towards a relief fund, which he said is roughly 28% of the net worth.
Additional execs have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars, but compared to their net value this may not be as far as it looks.
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Since the coronavirus outbreak has spread, technology businesses and their executives have quickened to donate cash and medical equipment.

Companies including Facebook, Apple, and Tesla have pledged millions of dollars like masks, protective gear, and ventilators in the kind of both cash and tools.

Executives are also kicking in. Bill Gates, who founded his philanthropic firm the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 20 decades back, was particularly vocal about the catastrophe, also Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey this week declared he was setting up a $1 billion fund.

However, to Silicon Valley billionaires, that make up some of the world’s richest individuals, even enormous quantities of money can make up a portion of their worth.

Here’s a breakdown of how much cash four technology billionaires have vowed versus how far their estimated net value is, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Jack Dorsey

Estimated net value: $3.89 billion

Amount pledged: $1 billion

The Twitter CEO declared on Tuesday he was donating $1 billion in equity out of his electronic payments firm Square into a relief fund called”Start Small.” Dorsey stated it will initially concentrate on aid, but will in time go towards funding girls’ health and education.

Dorsey published a link to flow tracker with the fund. At time of writing, it shows $100,000 is earmarked for America’s Food Fund.

According to Dorsey, the fund constitutes roughly 28% of his net worth.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Owen Thomas wrote this isn’t the first incarnation of the Start Small fund. He points out that Dorsey made a promise in a 2015 SEC filing for Square that he would donate millions of shares into the Small Start fund, but that as of 2018 they had not materialized in the public record.

Thomas also points out that as an LLC fund the money is not yet committed, and can return to Dorsey at any point.

Jeff Bezos

Estimated net worth: $123 billion

Amount pledged: $100 million

Jeff Bezos announced in early April he was donating $100 million to Feeding America, a nonprofit focused on supporting food banks.

At time of writing Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest person with an estimated $123 billion, meaning $100 million would make up roughly 0.08% of his fortune.

“Even in ordinary times, food insecurity from American households is a significant problem, and unfortunately COVID-19 is amplifying that anxiety significantly,” Bezos wrote in an Instagram post.

Meanwhile, Bezos’ firm Amazon has set up its own aid fund because of seasonal employees and its builders, launching the fund up to donations and kicking in a first $25 million.

Bill Gates

Estimated net worth: $101 billion

Amount pledged: $100 million

Gates’ philanthropic organisation The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation pledged $100 million towards fighting the pandemic in February, which constitutes 0.99% of Bill Gates’ personal wealth.

Back in Marchthe Gates Foundation said that it would contribute $50 million to a concerted fund using Wellcome and Mastercard called the “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator“, that combined would require a $125 million bud. It is not clear whether that $50 million came out of the 100 million guarantee or not.

The foundation is also funding at-home coronavirus tests in Washington State, and Gates states it’ll assist fund the construction of seven factories to fabricate potential applicants to get a vaccine, even though at most one vaccine candidate would be selected.

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