Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez pledge $100 million to Maui recovery
Lauren Sanchez (left) and Jeff Bezos arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 95th Academy Awards
By Samantha Delouya and Andy Rose, CNN
(CNN) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez are pledging $100 million dollars to recovery efforts in Maui, Sánchez announced Friday on her Instagram account.
“Jeff and I are heartbroken by what’s happening in Maui,” Sánchez wrote. “We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated.”
Sanchez added that, “Jeff and I are creating a Maui Fund and are dedicating $100 million to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.”
Wildfires have ravaged the Hawaiian island this week, with strong winds from Hurricane Dora fanning the flames. More than 50 people have been killed and thousands of residents have been displaced as homes and businesses were engulfed in flames.
It may take years for the island to fully repair the damage.
Bezos and Sánchez have been together since 2019 and were engaged earlier this year, a source told CNN in May. Bezos is the executive chair of the Amazon (AMZN) board of directors and owns the Washington Post. He has an estimated net worth of $163 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
That sum places him as the world’s third richest person, according to Bloomberg.
In November, Bezos told CNN he planned to donate the bulk of his wealth within his lifetime, saying he wants to devote money to fighting climate change and to supporting people who can unify humanity.
Neither Bezos nor Sánchez have signed the Giving Pledge, however. The pledge is a commitment made by hundreds of the world’s richest people, including Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett, to give away a majority of their wealth during their lifetimes or in their wills.
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