The world’s richest man and the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has revealed intention of gifting two CNN reporters $200million.
Bezos, the latest man to be in space revealed this at a press conference on Tuesday, following his trip to space and back to earth with his crew.
The reporters are; Van Jones and chef José Andrés
According to Bezos, the cash gift was tied to a “surprise” philanthropic initiative he wanted to announce called the Courage and Civility Award.
Bezos said that Jones and Andres were free to do “what they want” with the money.
“They can give it all to their own charity, or they can share the wealth. It is up to them.”
The award aims to honor those who have “demonstrated courage” and tried to be a unifier in a divisive world, Bezos added.
“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.”
While appreciating the gift, Jones said; “sometimes dreams come true.”
“You bet on me and I appreciate it,” Jones told Bezos, later adding that it was money for him to “give to others who have a similar spirit.”
Andrés, who has poured his efforts into feeding those in need around the world, said that the award itself “cannot feed the world on its own.”
“But,” Andrés added, “this is a start of a new chapter for us.”
