It’s a rare instance of cooperation between one of Wall Street’s favorite charities and a democratic socialist mayor who once said he didn’t believe billionaires should exist.
Robin Hood, one of New York’s largest charitable organizations—and one of Wall Street’s favorites—announced it had received a $100 million gift from the Bezos family, the parents of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The donation establishes the Jackie Bezos Endowment for Early Childhood, which will prioritize funding for education and early childhood development. It includes a pledge of an additional $25 million, subject to a match, for a total of $150 million. Jackie Bezos, Jeff Bezos’ mother, is a former board member of Robin Hood.
The donation goes to a cause New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has long advocated for: expanded childhood education. After campaigning on the issue throughout the Democratic primary and into the general election last year, the mayor announced last month that 2-K programming, free early care and education starting at age 2, would be free and universally accessible year-round.
While the funding from the parents of the billionaire Amazon founder may align with Mamdani’s goals, the mayor is no friend to the ultrawealthy. Last month, the mayor triggered a public back-and-forth with Citadel CEO Ken Griffin after releasing a video in front of the billionaire’s $238 million Central Park South apartment to announce his pied-à-terre tax, a tax on second luxury homes. Shortly after the video’s release, Citadel’s COO, Gerald Beeson, hinted in a letter to Citadel employees the company may not move forward with a Midtown construction project. And last week, the mayor skipped the Met Gala, saying he was doing so to make the city more affordable. Other celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Olivia Rodrigo skipped the event, directly attributing their absence to Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez-Bezos sponsoring the glitzy event.
Where the city stands with achieving universal child care
But an undertaking as big as providing universal child care for millions of the youngest New Yorkers may call for partners both in and outside of government. Jenna Lyle, a city hall spokesperson, said in a statement to Fortune the donation is part of a full group of forces needed to deliver on the promise of universal child care.
“To deliver free, universal child care across all five boroughs, it is going to take a citywide effort—government, providers, working families, labor, philanthropy, and New Yorkers in all five boroughs,” she said. “Everyone has to pull in the same direction. We are proud to see Robin Hood make a major commitment to expanding child care in New York and beyond.”
Robin Hood, founded by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones in 1988, has garnered support from some of Wall Street’s biggest names, including Ken Griffin and former mayor and founder of Bloomberg LP Michael Bloomberg. It funds over 300 nonprofits across the five boroughs, helped move over 32,000 New Yorkers into housing, and raised over $115 million to help city residents during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The mayor has partnered with the charitable organization on other universal child care initiatives since taking office in January. Earlier this year, his office partnered with the charity to carry out a citywide parent survey to help gauge needs and experiences around child care.
Robin Hood CEO Richard R. Buery, Jr. told Fortune that while public funding should remain the primary driver of the city’s child care expansion, philanthropic donations still help to power the city’s goals. “The role of philanthropy is to try to help the city to fund and deploy those resources more effectively.”
Buery added that the organization is “always trying to find ways to where our priorities aligned with the administration’s priorities to find ways to collaborate together” regardless of who runs City Hall.
Any sort of philanthropy may be welcome for a city that is undergoing a major budget crisis. The city has a $12 billion budget shortfall, with the mayor warning last month it was of a “historic magnitude.” On Tuesday, Mamdani announced the city’s updated FY2027 budget, which included $59.6 million for child care for all and K-12 education support. Mamdani said the new budget proposal plugs the deficit.
“We are restoring fiscal stability without slashing the services people depend on, without raising property taxes and without asking working families to pay for a crisis they did not create,” the mayor said in a statement.
