Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez Announce $100 Million Fund For Maui Wildfire Relief
As Maui residents call out for help as the result of the wildfires, some of its richest landowners have pitched in or spoken out about the disaster.
Lauren Sánchez, Jeff Bezos’ fiancee and vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, said in posts on Instagram and Threads Friday afternoon that the couple is establishing a $100 million Maui Fund to “help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years.” She made the announcement as wildfires continue to burn in Maui on Friday in what is one of the largest natural disasters in the state’s history
Sanchez’s announcement comes one day after writing on Threads that she and Bezos “will be making donations to help.” Oprah Winfrey, who owns more than 2,000 acres on Maui, has been handing out pillows and other supplies.
Other billionaires who own homes or land on Maui, including Peter Thiel, singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and software tycoon David Duffield, have remained quiet. Spokespeople for Buffett, Thiel and Duffield have not yet replied to a request for comment from Forbes. Real estate billionaire Neil Bluhm, who also owns land on Maui, could not be reached for comment. An Nvidia spokesperson wrote that they won’t “announce plans through Forbes” but did not elaborate on whether that meant that Huang will be making an announcement or donation.
Billionaires have been buying up land and homes in Hawaii for decades, typically as vacation homes. They have often met with criticism from locals for driving up prices and not doing enough to give back to the state or integrate themselves into the community. As of Friday afternoon, more than three days after the fires first started, most of Maui’s billionaire homeowners have not issued public statements or made public donations toward wildfire relief efforts.
Winfrey, one of the only billionaires to publicly provide aid so far, was photographed donating emergency goods like cots and toiletries to shelters in the area. She also spent time with some who were displaced by the blazes. A spokesperson for the former talk show host 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.” It’s not clear how much Winfrey has donated so far.
Kāko’o Haleakalā, a Hawaii-based land preservation organization that shared footage of Winfrey visiting the shelters, questioned why other billionaire homeowners haven’t provided similar aid. “Larry Ellison, Mark @zuckKā, where you at!” the group commented on an Instagram post highlighting Winfrey’s efforts. While neither Ellison nor Zuckerberg own property on Maui, they each own thousands of acres on the Hawaiian islands Lanai and Kauai, respectively.
Maui has approximately 465,000 acres of land. At least 2,000 acres have burned, and the rebuild will take years, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on Thursday. Experts believe that dry conditions and especially flammable non-native grasses, combined with wind gusts from Hurricane Dora hundreds of miles southwest of Hawaii, spread the deadly blazes.
Gov. Green said “without a doubt” that the damage is in the billions of dollars. At least 53 people have died, and Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said the death toll is expected to grow. The town of Lahaina has been decimated, and parts of the island are not accessible to recovery efforts.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon and 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, Bezos’ pledge to spend $10 billion over a decade to fight the impact of climate change—frequently referenced as a reason behind the unprecedentedly severe Maui wildfires—hasn’t yet issued any public statements nor responded to a request for comment. In her Threads post on Thursday, Bezos’ fiancee Sánchez said that she and Bezos had been speaking with local residents and officials to help make a plan for donations/. In the past, Bezos has reportedly given to various Maui-based organizations, mostly grants in the single-digit millions including a gift (amount unspecified) to the Hawaii Land Trust, which focuses on land conservation and restoration, but the $100 million fund will be the couple’s largest known donation to a Hawaiian cause. Spokespeople for Bezos didn’t respond to Forbes’ questions.
Just a mile down the road from Bezos’ Maui residence is a home owned by billionaire investor and tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Billionaire Jensen Huang, cofounder of graphics chip maker Nvidia and the world’s 35th richest person, owns an 8,000 square foot home near the southernmost Maui wildfire. David Duffield—who amassed a $12-billion fortune from cofounding software companies PeopleSoft and Workday—owns two adjacent homes a quarter mile away.
Here is Hawaii Public Radio’s list of ways to help those affected by the ongoing wildfires.
Kāko’o Haleakalā, a Hawaii-based land preservation organization that shared footage of Winfrey visiting the shelters, questioned why other billionaire homeowners haven’t provided similar aid. “Larry Ellison, Mark @zuckKā, where you at!” the group commented on an Instagram post highlighting Winfrey’s efforts. While neither Ellison nor Zuckerberg own property on Maui, they each own thousands of acres on the Hawaiian islands Lanai and Kauai, respectively.
Maui has approximately 465,000 acres of land. At least 2,000 acres have burned, and the rebuild will take years, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on Thursday. Experts believe that dry conditions and especially flammable non-native grasses, combined with wind gusts from Hurricane Dora hundreds of miles southwest of Hawaii, spread the deadly blazes.
Gov. Green said “without a doubt” that the damage is in the billions of dollars. At least 53 people have died, and Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said the death toll is expected to grow. The town of Lahaina has been decimated, and parts of the island are not accessible to recovery efforts.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon and 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, Bezos’ pledge to spend $10 billion over a decade to fight the impact of climate change—frequently referenced as a reason behind the unprecedentedly severe Maui wildfires—hasn’t yet issued any public statements nor responded to a request for comment. In her Threads post on Thursday, Bezos’ fiancee Sánchez said that she and Bezos had been speaking with local residents and officials to help make a plan for donations/. In the past, Bezos has reportedly given to various Maui-based organizations, mostly grants in the single-digit millions including a gift (amount unspecified) to the Hawaii Land Trust, which focuses on land conservation and restoration, but the $100 million fund will be the couple’s largest known donation to a Hawaiian cause. Spokespeople for Bezos didn’t respond to Forbes’ questions.
Just a mile down the road from Bezos’ Maui residence is a home owned by billionaire investor and tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Billionaire Jensen Huang, cofounder of graphics chip maker Nvidia and the world’s 35th richest person, owns an 8,000 square foot home near the southernmost Maui wildfire. David Duffield—who amassed a $12-billion fortune from cofounding software companies PeopleSoft and Workday—owns two adjacent homes a quarter mile away.
Here is Hawaii Public Radio’s list of ways to help those affected by the ongoing wildfires.
No amount of money can restore Maui. It can help people get on with survival, but the Maui That Was can’t be “restored”.
Do you have a link?
Good reporting. Thank you. Do you happen to live in Hawaii ?
I’m personally overwhelmed with everything going on in US and world - mostly evil