Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, recently named country singer Dolly Parton as the latest recipient of his Courage and Civility award. Bezos has awarded the music legend $100 million to direct to any charities she chooses.
Bezos, 58, described Dolly Parton as "a woman who leads with love" and gives with her heart.
“She gives with her heart and leads with love in every aspect of her work. What she's done for kids, and literacy, and so many other things, is just incredible,” Jeff Bezos said in a video posted on social media. The Amazon founder announced the award with his partner Lauren Sanchez.
The singer, thanking Jeff Bezos, said, "I try to put my money where my heart is, and I think you do the same thing. I will do my best to do good things with this money."
Parton, 76, has operated a foundation that's distributed books to children globally. A strong advocate of vaccination, she supported Moderna Inc.'s shot through a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for coronavirus research.
The previous recipients of Jeff Bezos' $100 million award are chef Jose Andres and Dream.org founder Van Jones. Jose Andres started the World Central Kitchen project that feeds people in disaster-stricken areas around the world.
Bezos, the world's fourth-richest person with a $123.9 billion fortune, has increased his philanthropic efforts since stepping down as Amazon's chief executive officer last year. He's focusing most of his attention on climate change with his $10 billion Earth Fund and also announced a $200 million gift to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
