Jeff Bezos gives $50 million each to Eva Longoria and Admiral Bill McRaven

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos His fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, will donate $100 million as part of Bezos' annual award to individuals who make significant contributions to society.

The recipients of the $50 million this year are actors and businessmen Eva Longoriaand Bill McRaven, a retired Navy admiral and former chancellor of the University of Texas System.

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The Bezos Award for Courage and Civility recognizes people who try to find solutions to complex problems, try to be unified, and embrace civility.

The first recipients of the award were Van Jones, a lawyer and CNN commentator, and chef José Andrés, who each earned $100 million in 2021. Artist and philanthropist Dolly Parton was the 2022 winner. There was no 2023 award. .

McRaven said in a statement that he wants to use the gift to focus on three areas: education for children of deceased veterans, especially in the special operations community; mental health and brain performance of veterans; And help develop future military leaders through education.

Longoria, who starred in the ABC drama Desperate Housewives As the trophy wife of Gabrielle Solis, she focused on education and entrepreneurship in Latino communities. The Eva Longoria Foundation aims to connect Latinos and Latinos in low-income areas with peer mentors, and Longoria has a fund to start Latino-owned small businesses.

“Of course, I'm personally honored and thrilled, but I'm even more excited about the impact I think we can have on this country by investing in the strength of the Latino community,” Longoria told CNN. “Latinos in the United States are a fast-growing group with extraordinary potential, but we are disproportionately lacking in the infrastructure opportunities we need and I am excited to invest in this opportunity.”

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