By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Jeff Bezos returned from his joyride to the edge of space and announced $100 million grant each to Van Jones, a CNN contributor, and chef José Andrés, a chef.
Jones, the black man, is an author and lawyer who has co-founded several non-profit organisations.
Andrés, the white man, is the founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a non-profit that has funneled over $140 million back into local economies and worked with over 400 cities in 35 states in America.
Globally, WCK estimates it has served over 35 million meals as part of their pandemic response program.
Jones and Andres are free to do “what they want” with the money, said the world’s richest man worth $200 billion, who founded Amazon and owns The Washington Post.
“They can give it all to their own charity,” Bezos said after his trip to space. “Or they can share the wealth. It is up to them.”
The money, Bezos said, was tied to a “surprise” philanthropic initiative he wanted to announce called the Courage and Civility Award, per reporting by CNN.
Unifiers in a divisive world
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,” he stressed.
“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.”
Jones, accepting the award, 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 the award itself “cannot feed the world on its own.”
“But,” Andrés added, “this is a start of a new chapter for us.”
Anderson Cooper, who was anchoring CNN’s special coverage on Bezos’s trip to space, said on-air after Bezos announced the award that it was “quite a surprise.”
“None of us knew anything about it,” Cooper said.
The philanthropic initiative from Bezos comes as he and fellow billionaires such as Richard Branson, the Virgin Galactic investor, face criticism for spending their wealth on space tourism.
According to CNN, Bezos has previously been criticised for not contributing more to philanthropy, but has donated billions of dollars in recent years to causes including climate change and food banks.
Critics have said the world’s richest people should work to improve the conditions for people here on Earth, instead of flying off into space. Bezos and supporters of the space programs, however, have countered that both are possible.
“Well, I say they’re largely right. We have to do both,” he said in an interview with CNN.
“You know, we have lots of problems here and now on Earth and we need to work on those, and we always need to look to the future. We’ve always done that as a species, as a civilization. We have to do both.”
Van Joses
Wikipedia profiles Jones, 52, as an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer.
He is the co-founder of several non-profit organisations, a three-time New York Times bestselling author, a CNN host and contributor, and an Emmy Award winner.
Jones served as President Barack Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs in 2009 and a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton University.
He founded or co-founded several non-profit organisations, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and the Dream Corps.
The Dream Corps is a social justice accelerator that operates three advocacy initiatives – Dream Corps Justice, Dream Corps Tech and Green for All.
Jones has hosted or co-hosted CNN shows including Crossfire, The Messy Truth, The Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project with Van Jones.
He is the author of The Green Collar Economy, Rebuild the Dream, and Beyond the Messy Truth; all three books rank as New York Times bestsellers.
He is the co-founder of Magic Labs Media LLC, a producer of the WEBBY Award-winning Messy Truth digital series and Emmy Award-winning The Messy Truth VR Experience with Van Jones.
Jones worked with the Donald Trump administration and members of Congress from both parties to pass a criminal justice reform effort known as the First Step Act.
He is currently CEO of the REFORM Alliance, an initiative founded by Jay-Z and Meek Mill to transform the criminal justice system. He was also a longtime colleague of, and advisor to, musician Prince.
José Andrés
Andrés, 52, is a Spanish chef, restaurateur, and founder of WCK, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters, according to Wikipedia.
He is often credited with bringing the small plates dining concept to America. He owns restaurants in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Las Vegas, South Beach, Florida, Orlando, and New York City.
He was awarded a 2015 National Humanities Medal at a 2016 White House ceremony for his work with World Central Kitchen.
Forbes adds that Andrés has long been recognized for linking his love of cooking with humanitarian projects.
At the start of the pandemic, as restaurants across the U.S. closed and left many out of work, WCK paid restaurants to feed communities in need, as well as provide meals for frontline workers.
WCK says it has funneled over $140 million back into local economies and worked with over 400 cities in 35 states. Globally, it estimates it has served over 35 million meals as part of its COVID response program.
Most recently, WCK was present at sites in Germany dealing with flooding and at the building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
“World Central Kitchen was born from the simple idea that food has the power to create a better world,” a visibly moved Andrés said at the press conference. “A plate of food is a plate of hope,” he added.
“This [$100 million] award itself cannot feed the world on its own but this is the start of a new chapter for us. It will allow us to think beyond the next hurricane to the biggest challenges we face.
“Now is the time to think really big, to solve hunger with the first urgency of now. The only thing we want to do is revolutionize disaster and hunger relief.
“People don’t want our pity. They want our respect. The least we can do is be next to them when things get tough.”
Andrés, who says he plans to double food aid around the world, is motivated by the thousands impacted by the pandemic. He hopes to tackle the root causes of world hunger.
“I believe in longer tables not higher walls. Let’s feed the world.”
