Twitter boss pledges $1bn for relief efforts
Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter and payment app Square, has said he will donate $ 1 billion ($ 810 million) to try to cope with the Corona virus epidemic.
According to Mr Dorsey, about 28% of his wealth was represented in the donation.
He wrote on Twitter, announcing that "needs are increasingly urgent."
In the United States, ventilators and personal protective equipment are lacking, and businesses and individuals are also struggling economically.
He said he was using shares of Square and not Twitter because he owned "a lot more" of them. The shares will be sold over time, which could impact on their value and the overall size of the donation.
Once the Covid-19 pandemic has been "disarmed", the funds will go toward girls health and education and research into universal basic income.
Mr Dorsey will use his stake in Square to fund donations that will be distributed through the Start Small Foundation.
The 43-year-old is the chief executive of both Twitter and Square.
I’m moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI. It will operate transparently, all flows tracked here: https://t.co/hVkUczDQmz
— jack (@jack) April 7, 2020
It is by far the biggest single donation to the global fight to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon's founder and the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has said he will donate $ 100 million to Food Bank Charity Feeding America.
“Even in ordinary times, food insecurity in American households is an important problem, and unfortunately Covid-19 is amplifying that stress significantly,” Bezos, 56, said in an Instagram post last week.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook announced in March that the company would donate medical equipment to Italy, which has been severely affected by the virus.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has promised $30 million, most of which is focused on efforts to create a cure.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given $ 100 million to develop and treat the COVID-19 vaccine. Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers, has committed $ 100 million.
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