PETALING JAYA, May 22 — Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey has already contributed an estimated RM371 million of his personal fortune for Covid-19 relief efforts as of today.
Dorsey had announced on his Twitter account last month that he had pledged to donate a RM4.36 billion fund (US$1 billion) to start an initiative called Start Small that is focusing on helping communities struck by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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
Dorsey is publicly tracking his RM4.365 billion donation via a Google Document.
According to CNBC, he will also be donating RM21.83 million to former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s Humanity Forward campaign that is championing for a Universal Basic Income of RM4,365 monthly for all Americans.
The RM21.83 million is also inclusive of communities affected badly by the Covid-19 crisis.
$5mm to @HumanityForward to immediately distribute small cash grants of $250 to nearly 20,000 people who’ve lost their jobs or taken an economic hit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you @AndrewYang! https://t.co/ABTJDpAcLx
Advertisement— jack (@jack) May 21, 2020
Yang said that the RM21.83 million will be used immediately to distribute to people who have lost their jobs in the form of small cash grants worth RM1,091.
Dorsey also told Yang in an online interview that he felt good giving a portion of his salary just like how he saw his brainchild, Twitter being used for the first time by people all over the world.
“When you build something like Twitter or Square (free point-of-sale app that enables one to sell from anywhere), the greatest value is actually seeing someone else use it as it drives us.
“The first time I saw tweets from Iran, it felt electric and amazing. And it felt just as amazing when my mother told me that the coffee shop she goes to had started using Square.
“I feel that same feeling when I give and when I know that the organisations I’m giving to are focused on real impact,” he said.
The Twitter CEO also said on his account that once the pandemic heals, his philanthropic efforts will focus on girls’ health and education.
Last week, the 43-year-old billionaire told his Twitter and Square employees that they can remain working from home forever even after the Covid-19 lockdown ends in America.
