Jeff Bezos and Van Jones (Photo: via Getty Images)
#Roommates, Jeff Bezos (the wealthiest man in the world) is having a pretty eventful week—and he decided to end it by giving away a very nice portion of his multi-billion-dollar fortune. Following his recent trip to space, Jeff Bezos clearly must have been feeling overly generous because he just donated $100 million to popular CNN commentator Van Jones.
@CNN reports, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is no stranger to charitable contributions, but his latest show of generosity left regular CNN commentator Van Jones speechless. Bezos announced that he was donating $100 million to Jones to do “whatever he wants,” as he stated that Jones was one of two recipients of the Courage and Civility Award, which is one of his “surprise” philanthropic initiatives. Bezos also added that “They can give it all to their own charity or they can share the wealth. It is up to them.” The donation and award is to honor those who have “demonstrated courage” and tried to be a unifier in a divisive world, Bezos explained. The other recipient was Chef Jose Andres.
As he accepted the massive financial gift, Van Jones expressed his shock and appreciation, saying “sometimes dreams come true.” He also told Jeff Bezos, “You bet on me and I appreciate it. [It’s money for me to] “give to others who have a similar spirit.”
Bezos laid out what the Courage and Civility Award is and why the mission is important to him:
“We need unifiers and not vilifiers. 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.”
Earlier this week after returning from his headline-making trip to space, Jeff Bezos received a bit of backlash for thanking his Amazon employees and customers for “paying for the trip,”—which some felt was insensitive.
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