Okay, so I saw this headline today about Jeff Bezos’ parents donating a huge chunk of money, like $185.7 million, to the Aspen Institute. I thought, “Wow, that’s a lot of dough,” and it got me thinking about how I could even begin to wrap my head around that amount of money and what it means.
First, I grabbed my phone and opened up the calculator app. Just for kicks, I typed in 185,700,000. Seeing all those zeros was kind of mind-boggling.
Then, I started thinking about what I could do with that kind of money. Obviously, I’d pay off all my debts, my mortgage, everything. I could make that all go Poof and be gone. I even started making a list on my phone notes.
- House- Paid!
- Car- Paid!
- Student Loans.
Next, because I was curious, I started to look at the Aspen Institute. I scrolled through their website and saw all the different programs they have. I was trying to get a better idea of where this big money donation was going.
After spending like 20 minutes reading through their mission statement and various initiatives, I started to get a sense of the scope of their work. It’s pretty broad, covering things like leadership development, policy studies, and public programs.
I closed the website. I went back to my simple list on my phone notes, thinking about the impact of that donation. It’s not just about the number, but what that money can do – the people it can help, the changes it can bring about. It’s a powerful thing.
