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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Ellena Cruse

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pledges $1bn equity to fight coronavirus

Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey has pledged millions of pounds to help fight coronavirus (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has pledged $1billion in equity (£812 million) to help fight coronavirus.

The CEO is donating stock to establish a new fund aimed at tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 43-year-old, who is also chief executive of the financial-payments startup Square, will move shares from his Square holdings to the new venture.

He said the contribution amounts to 28 per cent of his fortune.

He announced the new venture, called Start Small, in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

The organisation will disclose all transfers, sales and grants on a public Google Doc spreadsheet, he said.

Start Small will not be limited to fighting the pandemic, Mr Dorsey added.

“Once we have disarmed this pandemic,” he wrote, "the organisation will shift its focus to girls’ health and research into universal basic income, the idea that governments should guarantee a minimum income for all citizens."

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