Billionaire Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez to donate $100M to Hawaii wildfires relief fund
A “heartbroken” Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are putting their money where their mouth is.
The wealthy couple has pledged to donate a whopping $100 million to Maui as wildfires decimate the Hawaiian island.
“We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated,” Bezos, 59, and Sánchez, 53, said in a joint statement on Instagram Friday.
“The immediate needs are important, and so is the longer term rebuilding that will have to happen — even after much of the attention has subsided.”
The Amazon CEO and former broadcaster said they created a Maui Fund and are dedicating $100 million to help get the island “back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.”
Several people, including celebrities, took to the comments section of the post to congratulate the pair for their generosity.
Katy Perry commented, “this is it ♥️🙏🏻,” while Mindy Kaling added, “Wow. truly incredible ❤️”
Kathy Hilton chimed in with several clapping, prayer hands, hearts and star emojis.
Meanwhile, designer Rachel Zoe added, “Love you both this is incredible 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️.”
The apocalyptic fires in Maui this week have left at least 80 people dead and 1,000 are still missing, according to local officials. Thousands of homes have also been destroyed.
Earlier this week, we were told Britney Spears’ sons, who moved to Hawaii earlier this month, have been “traumatized” by what they have witnessed.
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Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, exclusively told us that Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden, 16, are “not personally [affected], but there’s people in the area that are dying and having their homes destroyed, so it’s very traumatic.”
“Obviously, right now, everyone is very sad about what’s going on there with the fires and the casualties from the fires, but other than the trauma from that, they’re very happy to be there.”
Bezoz and Sánchez’s donations are likely to make a significant impact.
The business mogul, who has a reported net worth of more than $160 billion, has been charitable in the past, but his contributions have not always been well received.
In November 2021, Bezos was criticized for giving $500,000 to the star-studded Baby 2 Baby event since it appeared to be a small percentage of his overall fortune.
“Everyone was waiting for him to donate something, but he didn’t,“ an attendee told Page Six at the time. “And then a little later, he donated $500,000. There was an audible groan from the room.”
Bezos and Sánchez lead a lavish lifestyle. They got engaged in May aboard his $500 million mega-yacht.
The third richest man in the world proposed to his girlfriend of five years at the time with a 20-carat engagement ring estimated to cost $2.5 million. It is unclear if the couple has signed a prenup.
