Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sánchez Establish $100M Maui Relief Fund For Wildfire Recovery

Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, are establishing a $100 million fund to “help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years.”

The donation was announced Friday afternoon in posts on Instagram and Threads.

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Wildfires on the island have so far claimed an estimated 67 lives, with hundreds of buildings destroyed and many hundreds of residents missing. It is one of the largest natural disasters in Hawaii’s history.

Oprah Winfrey, who owns more than 2,000 acres on Maui, also has been active in the relief efforts. She has been seen handing out pillows and other supplies at a refugee center. Winfrey is one of Maui’s largest landowners and opened an access road to firefighters battling the blaze.

Residents of Hawaii notoriously have been skeptical of the wealthy mainlanders who have driven up housing prices. They will be watched closely to see who gives back in Maui’s time of need.

A spokesperson for Winfrey told Forbes that Winfrey “will do more, as it becomes clear which funds can be the most helpful for the short-term and long-term rebuilding.”

Kāko’o Haleakalā, a Hawaii-based land-preservation organization that shared footage of Winfrey visiting the shelters, called out other wealthy landowners who have not publicly stepped up.

“Larry Ellison, Mark @zuckKā, where you at!” the group commented on an Instagram post highlighting Winfrey’s efforts. Neither Ellison nor Zuckerberg own property on Maui, but both own thousands of acres on the Hawaiian islands of Lanai and Kauai.

President Joe Biden has declared Maui a major disaster area, paving the way for federal assistance.

Bezos, the world’s third-richest person, bought a mansion near La Perouse Bay on Maui’s southern coast in 2021 for $78 million. The Bezos Earth Fund pledged to spend $10 billion over a decade to fight the impact of climate change

In her Threads posts, Sánchez said that she and Bezos had been speaking with local residents and officials to help make a plan for the donations.

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