Amazon.com Inc chief executive officer Jeff Bezos on Thursday launched Bezos Day One Fund, a new philanthropic initiative, with an initial commitment of $2 billion to help homeless families and create preschools for low-income communities.

The fund will be split between Day 1 Families Fund and Day 1 Academies Fund.

"The Day 1 Families Fund will issue annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families," Bezos said in a tweet.

The Day 1 Academies Fund will launch and operate a network of high-quality, full-scholarship, Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities.

Bezos, with an estimated fortune of more than $160 billion, is currently the world's wealthiest man, according to Forbes.

First Published:Sept 13, 2018 10:00 PM IST