---
[ VOICES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices)
# Jeff Bezos Donates $120 Million to Fight Homelessness, Then Invests $500 Million to Make It Worse
December 04 2023
Written by Jon Queally.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
HOMELESSNESS - Among the three richest people on the planet, mega-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos received some praise last week for [announcing ](https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2023/11/21/jeff-bezos-announces-hes-donated-nearly-120-million-to-help-families-experiencing-homelessness/)approximately $120 million in donations to a number of groups fighting the scourge of homelessness in the United States.
"It's a privilege to support these orgs in their inspiring mission to help families regain stability," Bezos wrote in an Instagram post touting the multiple grants to 38 individual nonprofits in 22 states.
But hold your applause.
Just days after word of the charitable gifts—a minuscule drop in the bucket compared to the estimated $170 billion fortune he possesses—a Bezos-controlled company called Arrived [dropped ](https://medium.com/collapsenews/jeff-bezos-acquires-500-million-worth-of-single-family-homes-driving-up-house-prices-even-more-f53afa88cfa4)$500 million of new investment in single-family homes with a venture fund that critics warn will make the nation's housing crisis even worse.
[According to ](https://gvwire.com/2023/12/03/what-to-know-about-hanukkah-and-how-its-celebrated-around-the-world/)*GV Wire* :
Since its inception in 2021, Arrived has attracted nearly a half a million customers, operating as a fractional real estate investing platform. The company’s model is similar to buying a slice of the American pie, allowing investors to purchase shares of single-family rentals for as little as $100.
The fund itself—called the Single Family Residential Fund—allows investors to purchase portions of various homes and later trade, hold, or redeem their "chips" on a rolling basis like players at a casino.
While many Americans, especially younger people and working-class families, have been steadily priced out of homeownership by soaring costs and, more recently, higher interest rates, Arrived preys on that reality by selling the idea that owning a piece of a home as an investment is an "American Dream" akin to owning the home one lives in.
Speculative investors, however, are likely not among those struggling to make ends meet but this kind of investment behavior, warn critics, is certain to drive home prices even higher.
Rep. [Ro Khanna ](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/ro-khanna)(D-Calif.)—who has co-authored legislation to halt the rent-gouging and inflated home prices that result from such investment schemes—ripped Bezos' latest move.
"The last thing Americans need is a Bezos-backed investment company further consolidating single-family homes and putting homeownership out of reach for more and more people," Khanna [tweeted ](https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/1730689734475645281)on Friday. "Housing should be a right, not a speculative commodity."
As the author writing under the name Homeless Romantic on *Medium* [noted ](https://medium.com/collapsenews/jeff-bezos-acquires-500-million-worth-of-single-family-homes-driving-up-house-prices-even-more-f53afa88cfa4)last week, a primary concern "raised by critics is the monopolization of housing" that Arrived is pushing.
"By acquiring a large number of single-family homes," reads the post, "Bezos and other investors could consolidate control over the housing supply, giving them significant influence over rental prices and market dynamics. This could make it more difficult for ordinary individuals and families to find affordable housing, particularly in high-demand areas."
It wasn't lost on many that there was a disconnect between his relatively paltry gift to organizations valiantly standing on the frontlines to fight homelessness with the one hand, while simultaneously using his massive fortune to exacerbate the crisis with a for-profit venture on the other.
What else could he do? People had ideas.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it would cost a mere $20 billion annually to end homelessness in the United States.
In response to the latest revelations about his charitable giving, a few people said a person worth nearly $200 billion like Bezos "could literally end homelessness by himself if he wanted to."
*(Jon Queally is a managing editor of CommonDreams.org where this story was first published.)*
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Phone
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33461-are-small-businesses-and-workers-fighting-their-true-adversary-in-the-fast-food-battle)
### [Are Small Businesses And Workers Fighting Their True Adversary In The Fast-Food Battle?](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33461-are-small-businesses-and-workers-fighting-their-true-adversary-in-the-fast-food-battle)
THE WORKPLACE - On Sept. 8, the Los Angeles City Council voted to get one step closer to expanding Fair Work Week to fa…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33486-why-would-la-voters-elect-a-city-attorney-who-has-never-tried-a-case-in-court-in-front-of-a-jury)
### [Why Would LA Voters Elect A City Attorney Who Has Never Tried A Case In Court In Front Of A Jury?](https://www.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33486-why-would-la-voters-elect-a-city-attorney-who-has-never-tried-a-case-in-court-in-front-of-a-jury)
OP-ED - I am writing to my neighbors over my deep concern about the candidacy of Marissa Roy for Los Angeles City Attor…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33463-dwp-ratepayers-streetlights-and-the-lack-of-transparency)
### [DWP Ratepayers, Streetlights, and the Lack of Transparency](https://www.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33463-dwp-ratepayers-streetlights-and-the-lack-of-transparency)
LA WATCHDOG - At its September 22 meeting, the politically appointed Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved a…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33455-nithya-raman-asked-jewish-los-angeles-to-trust-her-her-own-words-made-that-harder)
### [Nithya Raman Asked Jewish Los Angeles to Trust Her. Her Own Words Made That Harder.](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33455-nithya-raman-asked-jewish-los-angeles-to-trust-her-her-own-words-made-that-harder)
ELECTION 2026 - Nithya Raman walked into the Skirball Cultural Center with an opportunity. She could speak directly to…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33456-whos-watching-the-billions-at-laccd)
### [Who’s Watching the Billions at LACCD?](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33456-whos-watching-the-billions-at-laccd)
BUSINESS OF EDUCATION - There is a $9.9 billion government institution in Los Angeles with nine colleges, thousands of…
---
## [ VOICES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33453-if-not-trump-or-zelenskyy-who-deserves-the-next-nobel-peace-prize)### [If Not Trump or Zelensky,y Who Deserves the Next Nobel Peace Prize?](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33453-if-not-trump-or-zelenskyy-who-deserves-the-next-nobel-peace-prize)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33430-pet-peeves-of-a-curmudgeon)### [Pet Peeves of a Curmudgeon](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33430-pet-peeves-of-a-curmudgeon)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33431-the-unflinching-daily-horror-in-the-west-bank)### [The Unflinching Daily Horror In The West Bank](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33431-the-unflinching-daily-horror-in-the-west-bank)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33404-those-nasty-little-stickers-dangers-of-plus-vs-threats-from-electronic-pricing)### [Those Nasty Little Stickers. Dangers of PLUs vs. Threats from Electronic Pricing](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33404-those-nasty-little-stickers-dangers-of-plus-vs-threats-from-electronic-pricing)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33406-burbank-high-parents-raise-concerns-about-safety-discipline-and-school-response)### [Burbank High Parents Raise Concerns About Safety, Discipline and School Response](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33406-burbank-high-parents-raise-concerns-about-safety-discipline-and-school-response)