After completing a 10 minute flight to the edge of space, Jeff Bezos announced on Tuesday that he is gifting $100 million each to Van Jones and José Andrés.
According to Bezos, the new philanthropic endeavor, The Courage and Civility Award, awarded to the two “recognizes leaders who aim high, and who pursue solutions with courage, and who always do so with civility.”
The two recipients have been staunch critics of former President Donald Trump and Republicans as a whole.
Jones, a former advisor to President Barack Obama, stepped down from his position after signing a petition that asked for an investigation into whether the Bush administration knew that 9/11 would occur. Further, he claimed that conservatives demonstrated “cheap patriotism.”
Despite his constant negative remarks, the Trump administration worked with Jones to develop and pass national criminal justice reform.
Andrés, a celebrity chef who carried an open disdain for President Trump, repeatedly attacked the commander-in-chief and multiple members of the Trump family — leading Jones to confess that the administration “has done good stuff for the black community.”
In 2017, the chef responded to a tweet from Trump and accused the President of lying. “You are full of shit, Sir! Nothing wrong with the country. Only thing wrong is you and your lies! To your voters, and to all,” he said.
You are full of shit, Sir! Nothing wrong with the country. Only thing wrong is you and your lies! To your voters, and to all…
— Chef José Andrés 🕊️🥘🍳 (@chefjoseandres) August 12, 2017
While the money is designed for the celebrities to give to different charities, Bezos seemingly awarded the money without any guidelines on how to spend the millions.
After gifting the money, the billionaire said, “I bet Van Jones is going to do something amazing with that $100 million. I don’t know what yet. I bet he doesn’t know what yet, but it’s in your hands Van Jones.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
