Bezos is said to be one of several billionaire investors in Altos Labs, a Silicon Valley tech firm working on experimental – and potentially dangerous – new life extension technologies.

The new company has hired dozens of experts from top universities to research how cells age and how to reverse that process.

This “reprogramming technology” aims to return normal cells to a “primitive” stem cell state – that is how cells act when someone is firstborn – in order to heal and regenerate.

Among those hired is Spanish scientist Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte. He is infamous for his controversial work on mixing human and monkey embryos and predicts he will be able to extend life expectancy by 50 years.

When Belmonte tested his findings on live mice, they showed signs of age reversal – however, some mice developed deadly tumours called teratomas.

Altos Labs hopes to now further this and other research until it can reverse ageing in every part of the body – but it may be decades before the technologies are fit for human trials.

Bezos is said to have been interested in the field for some time, after previously investing in anti-ageing company Unity Biotechnology.

In a final letter to Amazon shareholders, Bezos also quoted the atheist Richard Dawkins, saying: “Staving off death is a thing you have to work at… if living things didn’t work actively to prevent it, they would eventually merge into their surroundings, and cease to exist as autonomous beings.”

The founder of Amazon made the announcement on Monday in an Instagram post, saying he’ll start giving grants this summer to scientists, activists, and nonprofits working to protect Earth.

He said “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change. Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund. Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation-states, global organizations, and individuals. I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together”

According to the bombshell investigation results, the forensic digital analysis concluded that Bezos’ phone was compromised after Bezos received a malicious video file from a phone number used by Mohammed bin Salman, and immediately “large amounts of data” were extracted from Bezos’ phone within hours.

The Saudi Arabian government has however denied hacking the phone of Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and Washington Post.

The Saudi embassy in Washington, reacting to the news said in a statement posted online Wednesday that “recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind the hacking of Mr Jeff Bezos’ phone are absurd.”

“We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out,” the embassy added.