Variety reports:
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and payments company Square, said he is moving $1 billion of his equity in Square to fund COVID-19 relief efforts.
Dorsey, who has a net worth of about $3.3 billion according to Forbes, announced the plan Tuesday on Twitter. He said the $1 billion represents 28% of his net wealth. The funds will be distributed through the Start Small Foundation, a donor-advised fund through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
“Why now? The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime,” Dorsey wrote on Twitter. “I hope this inspires others to do something similar. Life is too short, so let’s do everything we can today to help people now.”
. @jack ranks 168 on the Forbes 400 list, which means there are 167 American billionaires with more money than him. He’s putting them to shame with this commitment. https://t.co/KVYr8i0ndZ
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 7, 2020
Jack Dorsey Donating $1 Billion of His Equity in Square to COVID-19 Relief Efforts https://t.co/ApOHrCFwl5
— Variety (@Variety) April 7, 2020
Why pull just from Square and not Twitter? Simply: I own a lot more Square. And I’ll need to pace the sales over some time. The impact this money will have should benefit both companies over the long-term because it’s helping the people we want to serve.
— jack (@jack) April 7, 2020
Thank you Jack! This is a spectacular commitment. ?
— Andrew Yang? (@AndrewYang) April 7, 2020