Twitter founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey has pledged to donate $1 billion towards relief efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Jack Dorsey, founder of microblogging site Twitter and payment app Square, will donate $1 billion towards initiatives tackling the coronavirus pandemic. Dorsey emphasized that the donation represents around 28% of his wealth.
In his announcement on Twitter, Dorsey wrote that the "needs are increasingly urgent". He did not specify where the funds would be sent to help in the battle against the virus.
To fund the donation, Dorsey will use shares he owns in Square and will be coursed through the Start Small Foundation. He currently serves as CEO of both Twitter and Square.
According to Dorsey, he was using shares of Square instead of Twitter because because he owned "a lot more" of them. These shares will be sold over time, which could affect the value of the shares and the overall size of the donation.
If the pandemic would be completely solved before the funds are depleted, they will be redirected toward girls health and education and research into universal basic income.
Dorsey made the announcement in a six-part Twitter thread and he pointed out that he wanted to donate to causes where he could see an impact in his lifetime.
A limited liability company will be used to make the donations. This type of company is often used by wealth individuals for donations but has been often criticized for a lack of transparency.
In order to address this, Dorsey posted a link to a google doc which will publicly track the donations made through the funds.
Earlier in March, Dorsey's leadership at Twitter was challenged by new investor and activist hedge fund Elliott Management. However, both companies have agreed to retain Dorsey as CEO of the company.
Under the agreement between Twitter and Elliott involved, two new members will be added to its board of directors and the company will receive a $1 billion investment from investor Silver Lake. Twitter is also expected to undertake a $2 billion share repurchase program.
In a statement, Jesse Cohn, partner at Elliott, said: "I am looking forward to working with Jack and the Board to help contribute to realizing Twitter’s full potential."
Other tech billionaires fighting COVID-19
Aside from Dorsey's pledge, several billionaire tech bosses have expressed their plans to donate part of their wealth in efforts towards fighting COVID-19.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged $25 million from their tech and science research company, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), towards a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's research project
Called the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, the research project aims to develop and test antiviral drugs that could be used to fight the virus.
In a tweet, Apple chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook said the firm will be making face shields for medical workers.
The tech firm plans to produce over one million face shields weekly, which will first be shipped to the US and then distributed worldwide. Apple will also be donating 20 million face masks which it sourced to help prevent the spread of the virus.
