Featured Image Credit: Phillip Faraone/VF24/Getty Images for Vanity Fair / Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty
Topics: Celebrity, Money, Charity, Jeff Bezos, Amazon
Ella Scott
Topics: Celebrity, Money, Charity, Jeff Bezos, Amazon
Lauren Sánchez claims there’s another side to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that ‘people don’t really know’ about.
As per Forbes, 60-year-old Bezos is considered the second-richest man on the planet due to his estimated $197 billion net worth.
Famously known for launching Amazon in 1994, the Albuquerque-born businessman is also responsible for launching spaceflight company Blue Origin and for purchasing The Washington Post in 2013.
Despite his overflowing business portfolio, his wife-to-be claims he remains ‘extremely focused’ on carving out time for his philanthropy efforts.
In a new interview with Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria, 49, for the Hollywood Reporter, Sánchez, 54, said it was ‘crazy’ that ‘people don’t really know about’ one aspect of Bezos' work that helps contribute ‘to a better world’.
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And that's his charity work.
“Jeff is extremely focused, as you can imagine,” Sánchez told her friend of 20 years.
According to the journalist, the couple chooses to work with organizations addressing ‘urgent issues’ as well as those who have outlined a ‘clear, impactful plan for making a difference’.
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One of these is Mary’s Place - a charity empowering homeless women and children to reclaim their lives.
“It really focuses on temporary homeless families, which a lot of times are mothers who may be in an abusive relationship and need to keep their kids and go,” Sánchez explained.
“And one thing that Jeff did with Mary’s Place is he put the homeless shelter inside Amazon’s offices in Seattle which is incredible. I know.”
As well as partnering with the homeless charity, the father-of-four primarily does his charity work through his Day 1 Families Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund.
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The former was founded in 2018 with his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott while the latter was launched with a skeleton team just four years ago.
According to the Bezos Earth Fund website, the charity was created in 2020 with the goal of ‘combatting the climate crisis and driving a nature-positive future’.
It aims to fully disburse the founder’s $10 billion commitment by 2030 and has already awarded $100 million to the World Wildlife Fund.
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Moreover, Bezos and Sánchez annually collaborate to distribute the Courage and Civility Award.
Previous recipients include political analyst Van Jones, restauranter José Andrés and Dolly Parton.
This year, the $100 million lump sum is being shared between Longoria and Bill McRaven.