The Amazon founder and world’s second richest man is giving an astounding $100 million to the previous presidents noble cause, the Obama Foundation said.
The donation comes as Amazon tries to battle off difficulties from the Biden administration.
As a component of the donation, Bezos has asked that Obama rename the square at his dubious Chicago official focus to pay tribute to previous Congressman and social equality advocate John R. Lewis, as per the Obama Foundation.
In a release sent off the media, Bezos spouted that he’s “thrilled to support President and Mrs. Obama and their Foundation in its mission to train and inspire tomorrow’s leaders.”
Bezos $100 million gift which addresses under 0.1 percent of his assessed $210 billion fortune is the biggest individual commitment at any point got by Obama’s foundation. Its additionally one-fifth of the announced $500 million Bezos as of late spent on a yacht.
The donation was organized by Jay Carney, a previous Obama press secretary and Amazons current public strategy and public relations chief, as per news, which initially announced the donation.
Obama and Bezos talked straightforwardly to one another prior this year and have once in a while seen each other socially, the news source detailed.
Bezos’ buddying with Obama comes as Amazon clashes bitterly with the Biden administration over antitrust issues. Lina Khan, the Biden-appointed chief of the Federal Trade Commission, has a long history of blasting what she says are anticompetitive practices by Amazon and is reportedly probing the company’s $8.5 billion purchase of movie studio MGM.
Citing past reactions Khan had made of Bezos’ empire, Amazon requested in June that she recuse herself from any FTC tests of the company.
Amazon is likewise attempting to battle off officials in Congress, some of whom are eager to take on Big Tech through charges that would prevent Amazon from leaning toward its own items in indexed lists or even separation the company out and out.
The Obama Foundation was unclear with regards to what Bezos cash will be spent on, composing that the money will give “the next generation of emerging leaders… the necessary tools, resources, and training needed to be the change they want to see in the world, just as Congressman Lewis did.”
The Obama Foundation’s $500 million presidential center on Chicago’s South Side, however, has attracted backlash from some residents, who have blasted the former president for cutting down trees in a historic park and fostering gentrification.
Obama has protected the middle, saying, “The overwhelming majority of the community has been not just okay with it, but are hugely enthusiastic about it.”
Other tech moguls who have given to the Obama Foundation incorporate Bezos ex Mackenzie Scott, Bill and Melinda Gates and ex-Facebook president and Napster founder Sean Parker.