Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, announced Tuesday afternoon that he will be transferring nearly 20 million shares in his mobile payment company to The Start Small Foundation, a nonprofit organization he created in 2015, and dedicate the organization to global coronavirus relief efforts.
In a Twitter thread on Tuesday, Dorsey revealed that the donation represents approximately $1 billion, a staggering amount he says represents 28% of his entire wealth.
“I’m moving $1 billion of my square equity (~28% of my wealth) to [Start Small] LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI,” said Dorsey.
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
The billionaire later explained that he decided to donate Square shares instead of Twitter shares because he owns more shares in the mobile payment company. Dorsey said that he will need to pace the sales over time, and that he has created a public document so that the transfers are done in a transparent manner.
“The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime,” said Dorsey. “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.”
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
The announcement comes as shares in the company have been performing surprisingly well, with InvestorPlace noting that financial analysts have started referring to the company as a “coronavirus hedge.”
According to CNN, Dorsey recently managed to stay in his job as Twitter CEO after reaching an agreement with a prominent shareholder who wanted him ousted as the company’s chief executive, in part, because he was running two companies at once.
Dorsey was also recently planning on moving to Africa for six months, but changed plans after the coronavirus pandemic caused fundamental transformations to daily life around the world.
“I had been working on my plans where I’d work decentralized, as my team and I do when we travel, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to reevaluate. Either way we’ll continue to pursue opportunities in Africa,” said Dorsey, reported CNBC.
The news agency reports that the move to Africa was another reason the shareholder wanted the company to consider replacing Dorsey.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has also agreed to help fund coronavirus relief efforts in the form of helping to develop vaccine manufacturing plants, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation previously announced a $125 million commitment to coronavirus relief efforts.