What Is Van Jones Doing With Bezos’ $100 Million?
It has been eight months since Jeff Bezos exited the tip of his phallic rocket, peered out below a cowboy hat, and lavished $100 million apiece on philanthropic chef Jose Andrés and CNN commentator Van Jones, the inaugural recipients of his somewhat vaguely titled Courage & Civility Awards.
The gifts were earmarked for charitable causes but otherwise came with no strings attached. “No bureaucracy. No committees. They just do what they want,” Bezos said at the time.
Andrés, who feeds masses of people after humanitarian disasters through his nonprofit World Central Kitchen, says he is already spending some of his millions to help war-torn Ukrainians. The group is preparing meals 24 hours a day at eight border crossings, assisting local restaurants in 12 cities, and providing food to refugees in Romania, Moldova, and Hungary.