Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of Blue Origin, recently sold over a million shares of the company in order to fund his nonprofit chain of preschools called Day 1 Academies. These schools are “Montessori-inspired” and cater to children between the ages of 3 and 5. The first school opened in Des Moines, Washington in 2020.
Bezos used the $117 million raised from the stock sales to support his educational initiatives. Despite stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, Bezos remains the company’s executive chairman and largest shareholder. The stock has seen a 17% increase in 2024, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 but still trailing behind some rival companies like Nvidia and Meta Platforms.
Bezos first announced his plans for education in 2018, unveiling the Day 1 Families Fund and the Day 1 Academies Fund. The goal of these initiatives is to create a network of preschools where the child is the main focus. These schools are operated directly by the Bezos Day One Fund, which aims to improve early childhood education through learning and innovation.
