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Amazon<\/a> founder Jeff Bezos and his fianc\u00e9e Lauren S\u00e1nchez have given away $100 million to a retired Navy admiral and actress Eva Longoria as part of the billionaire\u2019s annual prize to individuals who make significant contributions to society.<\/p>\n The Desperate Housewives star and Bill McRaven, a veteran and former chancellor of the University of Texas System have been awarded $50 million each to help those in need.<\/p>\n Bezos\u2014who has a net worth of around $200 billion<\/a>\u2014launched the Courage and Civility Award in 2021 to support philanthropists. <\/p>\n Van Jones, a lawyer and CNN commentator, and the lauded chef and humanitarian Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s were the first recipients of the prize.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need unifiers and not vilifiers<\/a>,\u201d Bezos commented on the reason for launching the award, before revealing the inaugural prize winners. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople who argue hard and act hard for what they truly believe, but always with civility and never ad hominem attacks. And unfortunately, we live in a world where this is too often not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, country singing icon Dolly Parton took home the 2022 award<\/a>, after donating $1 million toward Moderna\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine research and books to millions of children through her foundation Imagination Library.<\/p>\n Twelve years on from embodying Wisteria Lane\u2019s housewife Gabrielle Solis, Longoria has gone on to become a director, the CEO of her own production company, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and a political activist.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2021, she founded The Eva Longoria Foundation \u201cto help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship,\u201d according to its website. <\/p>\n The charitable body achieves that through a variety of programs for aspirational Latinx, including mentorship and access to funding.<\/p>\n With her portion of the award money, Longoria told Elle<\/em> that she plans to \u201ccontinue doing what I\u2019ve been doing<\/a>\u201d with the Eva Longoria Foundation and Eva\u2019s Heroes, a charitable organization within the foundation that supports the special needs community.<\/p>\n Longoria said that her charitable focus is on women because they \u201care the changemakers in families.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you help a woman, she helps her family. And then when you help families, you improve communities. And when you improve communities, you can improve nations,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, McRaven\u2014who oversaw the 2011 raid that <\/strong>killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden\u2014has pledged to use the money to develop education programs for future military leaders and the children of deceased veterans, as well as mental health support for those who serve.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opportunity to use this incredible gift to help veterans and their families is the dream of a lifetime and I am so grateful to Lauren and Jeff for giving me this opportunity,\u201d he said in a statement to CNN<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s second-richest man (behind only LVMH\u2019s boss Bernard Arnault, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index) didn\u2019t hand out the charitable award last year, but he\u2019s been on a wider mission to give away the majority of his wealth<\/a> during his lifetime.<\/p>\n Since stepping down as Amazon\u2019s CEO, Bezos has increased his philanthropic efforts<\/a> and has committed $10 billion<\/a> to climate change efforts, through an initiative called the Bezos Earth Fund.<\/p>\n Last year, he gave out $117 million in grants to support homeless families through his Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, bringing his total donations to nearly $640 million.<\/a><\/p>\n However, critics have in the past been skeptical about just how philanthropic the billionaire really is.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s committed a large amount of money. But it still feels very, very half-baked,\u201d Benjamin Soskis<\/a>, who researches philanthropy for the Urban Institute previously told Time<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, Bezos still hasn\u2019t signed the Giving Pledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010, the campaign encourages billionaires from across industries to commit to giving away at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes.<\/p>\n So far, it\u2019s been signed by 242 billionaires<\/a> including Elon Musk and even Bezos\u2019 ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nHow will Eva Longoria and Bill McRaven use the money?<\/h2>\n
Bezos\u2019 says he is on a mission to give away his wealth<\/h2>\n
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