Amazon's Bezos pledges $15 million to 3 US Catholic charities

Billionaire founder launched his Bezos Day One Fund for the homeless in September

Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos is donating US$5 million to each of three Catholic charities from his newly launched philanthropic fund.

The three recipients are the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, and Catholic Community Services of Western Washington.

Another 21 organizations will also receive grants from the $2 billion Bezos Day One Fund for homeless families and pre-schools that Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced the launch of this September.

Jeff Bezos is viewed as one of the world's richest men to have ever lived, with a net worth in excess of US$150 billion, according to Forbes.

He is also, like other billionaires including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, reinventing himself as a philanthropist.

On the fund website, Bezos wrote that he wants to "shine a light and support the organizations that are doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter for young families in communities across (America)."

Almost US$100 million has been distributed among the 24 chosen recipients, with the generous disbursals amounting to either $2.5 million or $5 million apiece, according to the Associated Press.

"We hope these grants provide the additional resources these leaders and their organizations need to expand the scope and impact of their efforts," Bezos said.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami said it would use the funding to assist the homeless in three counties.

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington said it now expects to be able to assist 3,600 families facing homelessness by 2023.