Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person in the world, and his wife Lauren Sánchez have donated about $4.7 billion so far. The Amazon founder has now announced more than $25 million in new grants through the Bezos Earth Fund. The latest funding will support ocean conservation projects in the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu. The initiatives are aimed at protecting and sustainably managing more than 625,000 square miles of ocean. For Bezos, however, the amount remains a fraction of his estimated $272 billion net worth.
Bezos pledged $10 billion to the Earth Fund in 2020, with the money intended to be distributed over a decade to help address climate change and protect nature. The fund has so far announced billions of dollars in grants across a range of environmental initiatives.
Bezos Earth Fund grants
The latest grants mark the second round of the Earth Fund's Pacific initiative, called Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity. The programme aims to help Pacific countries protect at least 30% of their marine areas by 2030. The first round of Pacific funding, totaling $37.5 million, was announced in 2025. With the latest grants, the Earth Fund has committed $63.3 million toward the Pacific initiative.
Papua New Guinea plans to use its funding to establish its first large offshore marine protected area, while Tonga is expanding its protected zones. Funding will also support the Cook Islands' Marae Moana ocean park and efforts to identify and protect important ocean habitats in Kiribati and Vanuatu.
Marine protected areas can have different levels of restrictions. The most protected zones can prohibit activities such as fishing, mining and other forms of resource extraction.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, is leading the latest round of grants. Since marrying Bezos in June 2025, she has taken a more prominent role in the couple's philanthropic activities. She also announced the first round of Pacific grants last year.
The Earth Fund is also supporting conservation efforts beyond national waters. One grant to conservation organisation Rare will help develop proposals to protect biodiversity in international waters under the UN High Seas Treaty, which entered into force in January.
Where else is Bezos Earth Fund spending money?
The fund's activities extend well beyond ocean conservation. It has announced $2 billion for conserving and restoring nature and another $1 billion for food and agricultural systems. Other recent commitments include $34 million for sustainable fabrics, $26 million for wildfire detection and prevention, and $100 million to help convert vacant urban land into parks across eight US cities.
The organisation has also committed $100 million in partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio's Re:wild to support efforts focused on some of the world's most endangered species. With the latest Pacific grants, 17 of the region's 22 countries and territories are now working to protect and sustainably manage their waters.
Among the first-round recipients, French Polynesia created the world's largest network of fully protected marine areas earlier this year, covering nearly 625,000 square miles of ocean. Niue has already protected about 40% of its national waters.
