Bezos' Big Gift to the Obama Foundation

Jeff Bezos, the world's second-richest man, is donating 100 million to the foundation of former US President Barack Obama. An announcement was made by the Obama Foundation on Monday, according to a report in the New York Times. This is by far the largest donation to the Obama Foundation.

Until last year, Jeff Bezos, founder of the e-commerce giant Amazon and owner of the spacecraft company Blue Origin, did not have much of a reputation as a donor. However, Jeff Bezos is donating to various charities this year. Last week, Bezos announced 96.2 million in grants for organizations working with the homeless. 

At a climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland this month, the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, pledged 200 million to restore the environment. He also sold 200 million worth of shares in his e-commerce company Amazon to fulfill his promise. In addition, the Bezos Earth Fund plans to spend 1 trillion on climate change as a whole.

In fact, since resigning as chief executive of Amazon last July, Bezos has focused on a different kind of work. He arrived in space on July 20 on a rocket made by Blue Origin. At the same time, he is giving a lot of donations to present himself as a philanthropist.

Jeff Bezos has dedicated his grant to former congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. John Lewis died in 2020. The grant will be used to fund the Obama Foundation's project, the Barack Obama Presidential Center. Which is named after John Lewis.

In a statement yesterday, Jeff Bezos said the freedom fighters deserve a special place. John Lewis is a great American leader. He was elegant and brave. I can't think of a better person to honor him. At the same time, I am pleased to support former Presidents Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and their Foundation in their efforts to train and inspire future leaders.

On the other hand, Barack Obama is still an important member of the founding of the Democratic Party. The former president of the Obama Foundation, Adeval Adeimo, who was a member of Obama's National Security Council, is now the Deputy Treasury Secretary. The Obama Foundation called on alumni of the administration to come forward as part of its fundraising effort. Based on that source, Obama's former press secretary, Jay Carney, first mentioned the Bezos grant. 

Jay Carney is now Amazon's top lobbying and communications executive. Later, Obama and Bezos talked about it several times. The goal of the Jeff Bezos grant is to digitize the Barack Obama Presidential Library with the National Archives and Records Administration. The center is under construction. It is located in Jackson Park, near the University of Chicago campus. The foundation estimates the construction of the center will cost about 700 million.

Barack Obama founded the Obama Foundation in 2014. Notable donors to the foundation include Bezos' ex-wife Mackenzie Scott, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, and former Facebook president and Napster founder Shawn Parker.