Bezos Donates $100 Million to Obama Foundation Amid Philanthropic Giving Spree
© REUTERS / Mario Anzuoni
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Billionaire Jeff Bezos, 57, founder and executive chairman of Amazon, has recently been flexing his philanthropic capability through donations that have exceeded half a billion dollars in the past several months alone.
The Obama Foundation revealed on Monday that Bezos has pledged to give the Chicago-based nonprofit organization $100 million in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a long-term politician and American civil rights icon.
As part of his gift, Bezos requested that the Plaza at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago be renamed the 'John Lewis Plaza.'
"Freedom fighters deserve a special place in the pantheon of heroes, and I can’t think of a more fitting person to honor with this gift than John Lewis, a great American leader and a man of extraordinary decency and courage," Bezos said in a quoted statement.
Bezos' donation is the organization's largest individual contribution to date.
The Big Tech boss has recently been on a philanthropic spending spree that is reportedly sure to boost his public image going into the holiday season.
Within recent months, Bezos has pledged to donate some $200 million to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; $100 million to CNN political commentator and Dream Corps founder Van Jones, and $100 million to chef Jose Andres, co-founder of World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit non-governmental organization that provides meals to individuals in disaster zones and poverty-stricken regions.
Additionally, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn announced this week that it is the recipient of a $166 million gift from the Bezos Family Foundation, an organization established by Bezos' parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos. The family previously pledged a $25 million donation to the hospital in 2017, according to a hospital news release.
A newly announced $166 million gift from the Bezos family is a reflection of a continued partnership with NYU Langone, and our collective commitment to providing care for all across Brooklyn.
— NYU Langone Health (@nyulangone) November 22, 2021
Learn more: https://t.co/0WGcttyFoq pic.twitter.com/aktYbho9ie
The hospital said the funds will allow it and the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone to create a community-wide health model that addresses what it described as the social determinants of health and the drivers of health inequity.
