Amazon's Jeff Bezos to start $2 billion charitable fund

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that he is giving $2 billion to start a fund that will open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and give money to nonprofits that helps homeless families. Bezos, whose stake in Amazon is worth about $160 billion, says that he'll call it the Bezos Day One Fund. An Amazon.com Inc. spokeswoman confirmed that the money will all come from Bezos, though there are few details about how the fund will operate. In a post to his Twitter account, Bezos said one part of the fund will give money to organizations and groups that provide shelter and food to young homeless families. The other part will launch and operate free preschools in low-income communities, where "the child will be the customer." It's not yet known what his preschools will look like except that they will be based on the teaching philosophy of Maria Montessori, which focuses on play-based learning that caters to individuality and social-emotional development.

Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online book store more than two decades ago, has seen his wealth surge along with Amazon's stock. Forbes magazine placed him at the top of its list of billionaires for the first time this year, surpassing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett. Bezos' wealth has allowed him to pay for side ventures, including starting space exploration company Blue Origin and buying The Washington Post newspaper. By choosing to focus his philanthropy on homelessness and early education, Bezos is likely influenced both by his parents' Bezos Family Foundation and by his adopted hometown of Seattle, however mixed some natives may feel about the city's growing affordability crisis that's been largely attributed to the success of Amazon.

Bezos, and Amazon, have been criticized in Seattle for not doing more to help the needy and have become focal points in the booming region's angry debate about traffic, housing prices and homelessness. When Seattle passed a tax in May on large companies to fight the city's growing homelessness crisis, Amazon balked and even temporarily halted construction planning on a new high-rise building near its headquarters. City leaders quickly rescinded the levy. The fight soured many more locals on Amazon and Bezos, and also overshadowed the growing portfolio of philanthropy they had done in the city. The most notable involving more than $40 million to the local nonprofit FareStart — a hospitality training program and restaurant business that aims to combat homelessness and poverty — and Mary's Place, whose mission to find and provide shelter for every child.

In addition to millions in cash, both nonprofits have been granted prime real estate in Amazon building spaces to do their work. "He's a pretty amazing neighbor, him and MacKenzie," said Mary's Place director Marty Hartman. "Although he has a global vision, they really have a local heart."

In the education realm, Bezos is tipping his hat to the intensely private and media-shy Bezos Family Foundation that is run by his parents. The Amazon boss and his wife, who have four children, both serve on the foundation's board directors.

https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/amazon-jeff-bezos-start-billion-charitable-fund/1sKvPAUnadtjCJBkw6T86O/

Report: 3,677 sex abuse cases in German Catholic Church

A report on sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Germany says 3,677 people were abused by clergy between 1946 and 2014, two leading German media outlets said Wednesday. Spiegel Online and Die Zeit said the report they obtained — commissioned by the German Bishops Conference and researched by three universities — concludes that more than half of the victims were 13 or younger and most were boys. Every sixth case involved rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved, both weeklies reported. Die Zeit wrote that 969 abuse victims were altar boys.

The report also says that the actual number of victims was likely much higher, according to the research by experts from the Universities of Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim. The German Bishops Conference said in a written response a few hours later that it regretted the leaking of the report, but that the study confirms “the extent of the sexual abuse” that took place. “It is depressing and shameful for us,” Bishop Stephan Ackermann said. He didn’t further elaborate on the findings of the report, but said the Catholic group would present the study as initially planned on Sept. 25 together with the authors.

Die Zeit wrote that researchers weren’t allowed to look at the original church files but had to provide questionnaires to the dioceses, which then provided the information. In their conclusions, the researchers write that there was evidence that some files were manipulated or destroyed, many cases were not brought to justice, and that sometimes abuse suspects — primarily priests — were simply moved to other dioceses without the congregations being informed about their past.

The Catholic Church has been struggling with sex abuse by its clergy for a long time. In 2010, the German church was roiled by a sex abuse scandal triggered by the head of a Jesuit school in Berlin who went public about decades-long sexual abuse of high school students by clergy. Following that, a whole wave of victims who were sexually abused by clergy spoke out across the country. An investigation in the United States last month found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania. Earlier this week, the Vatican said it is preparing the “necessary clarifications” about accusations that top Vatican officials including Pope Francis covered up the sexual misconduct of a now-disgraced American ex-cardinal. Also on Wednesday, the Vatican said it’s summoning the presidents of every bishops conference around the world for a February summit to discuss preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children.

https://www.apnews.com/cbb427f29d0643059860f5efbc255031/Report:-3,677-sex-abuse-cases-in-German-Catholic-Church

>>3009014

>>3009049

I think the only way to stop the continued proliferation of this, is to take the NON out of profit…make it all taxable..

>>3009122

That is a great option as well

>>3009215

I think he really is doing is making sure money is set aside for the time when all hell breaks loose, these kind of programs are nothing more than money laundering foundations.