Google's Eric Schmidt Gives $1 Million In "New Digital Age" Grants From His Own Pocket

Google’s Eric Schmidt is on a tour to promote the book he co-wrote with Jared Cohen, Director Of Google Ideas (yes, that’s actual title), “The New Digital Age: Reshaping The Future Of People, Nations, And Businesses”, and part of his promotion is the promise of $1 million in grant money for organizations that are “using technology to solve pressing human problems”.

Now, are these grants a publicity stunt to help Schmidt and Cohen sell more books? Definitely. And some knee-jerk skepticism about the whole thing is warranted, as although a million bucks is technically a lot of money, it’s not even a drop in the bucket for a company like Google. And one would assume that Google was involved in financing the grant money, but actually it’s coming from Schmidt’s own pocket.

Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt

Schmidt is a very rich man that can afford to cough up $1 million, and he stands to make even more money from the sales of this book, but it’s still noteworthy that he himself is the one forking over the cash.

Grant recipients will be announced on March 10th and will include those non-profits around the world that show the ability to use technology to solve global problems such as “repressive censorship, crime, or natural disasters”.