PA ImagesAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, is the latest high-profile figure to donate money to Australia’s bushfire crisis – pledging $1 million.
Since September, the wildfires ravaging Down Under have caused deadly chaos across the country, taking the lives of at least 27 people and killing more than a billion animals.
Donations have been pouring in over the past week, with the likes of Chris Hemsworth and Elton John donating $1 million each. Now, the Amazon figurehead has offered his assistance.
With a fortune of more than $116 billion, Bezos took to Instagram over the weekend to announce his donation towards bushfire relief in Australia.
The Amazon boss wrote:
Our hearts go out to all Australians as they cope with these devastating bushfires. Amazon is donating $1 million in needed provisions and services. Find more about it and learn how customers can help as well.
The donation is set to be distributed across the Australian Red Cross, the Salvation Army Australia, animal charity WIRES, and Australia’s Rural and Country Fire Services. His pledge (in Australian dollars) equates to around £532,000.
PA ImagesBezos also urged followers to check out an Amazon blog post, explaining how shoppers can donate to the crisis by buying certain items from a wish-list collated for the fires.
The post explains:
Customers who wish to donate essential items to the relief effort can do so by visiting Amazon.com.au and shopping from the wish list specifically created by BlazeAid. Amazon will deliver these items to BlazeAid’s nominated destinations. Additional charity wish lists will be added in the days to come with thousands of items available to order.
The donated products, including water, food, safety clothing, building materials, and more, have been specifically requested by BlazeAid as essential to aid their volunteers in the recovery efforts.
Bezos’ donation comes after Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, an Aussie billionaire mining magnate, announced he will spend $70 million on a wildfire relief package to assist with the country’s ongoing crisis.
Lol. Metallica gave $750,000. https://t.co/l45HkUKhIK
— Thick Cave & the Bad Tweets™ (@TimDuffy) January 12, 2020
Over the past four months, it’s estimated that 10 million hectares (100,000 sq km) of land across the entirety of Australia has turned to ash in the bushfires, as per the BBC.
You can donate to the Australian Red Cross here. Alternatively, you can donate to the NSW Rural Fire Service here, or the Queensland Fire Service here. You can also donate to the WWF Australia Bushfire Emergency fund here.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.