BEZOS DONATES $100 MILLION EACH TO CNN CONTRIBUTOR VAN JONES AND CHEF JOSE ANDRES
Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, and the world’s wealthiest man took a trip to space last week. After taking the historical journey, he announced that he rewarded $100 million CNN contributor Van Jones and chef José Andrés. Bezos then made it clear that they are free to do whatever they wanted to do with the money.
“They can give it all to their own charity,” Bezos said at a press conference after his trip to space. “Or they can share the wealth. It is up to them.”
The money is tied to a philanthropic initiative he announced called the Courage and Civility Award.
“We need unifiers and not vilifiers,” Bezos said. “We need people who argue hard and act hard for what they believe. But they do that always with civility and never ad hominem attacks. Unfortunately, we live in a world where this is too often not the case. But we do have role models.”
Jones accepted the award and said, “sometimes dreams come true.” He continued, “You bet on me and I appreciate it,” referring to Bezos.
Andrés, who has poured his efforts into feeding those in need around the world, said that the award “cannot feed the world on its own.” He also added, “but this is a start of a new chapter for us.”
Until recently, Bezos had drawn considerable criticism for his trip to space. It’s no secret America’s tax system protects the growth of existing wealth and rewards the rich. Thus, the wealthy are criticized when they donate money because their money affects social change, which needs to be well-managed. After years of political debate, Bernie Sanders made it clear on his views of Bezos’ spending.
Jeff Bezos is using his time to go out and zoom around outer space. Good for him. Poll after poll shows the American people want him to pay his fair share of taxes back here on Earth.
Let's get it done.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 22, 2021
Bezos made it very clear that he sees a future in space both for his commercial and philanthropic investment. His space tourism business is off to a pretty great start.
