1ºMany people (including myself) had no idea how involved Van Jones was in prison reform and how he helped rehabilitate inmates back into society. I know now because I worked on a project that involved telling a little bit of his story. This was all before CNN. He’s also been a fighter of the green economy, writing a book about it, all before CNN. Read his Wikipedia and you will see he has served selflessly for decades. He is a true soldier of the people, working with both Barak Obama AND Donald Trump. If anyone will put that money to good use it is 100000% Van Jones. Do your own research, the man is as legit as they come and is not just another CNN anchor. This man is all about serving his community. He is the real deal, look him up.
2ºAre rich people slow or what? Why give this money to a single individual? How about donating it to organizations that are trying to rebuild communities. Or, to food desert communities that are in desperate need of accessible, quality grocery stores. Or, to the many daycares across the country that are suffering to keep their doors open since the COVID shut-in. There are a plethora of ways $100 million could've been distributed to reputable organizations that are known to help the poor or promoting entrepreneurship in poor and low income communities. But trusting that an individual will do what is right with that enormous monetary gift with no strings attached, is just waiting for one of them to self-destruct.
3ºProbably because he wants the woke idiots to be silent on the fact that he used a zillion gallons of fuel for just a few minutes of flight for himself. I wonder where all the climate change and global warming activists are. It's ok if a billionaire spends more fuel in 1 day than I'll probably spend in my whole life and yet i need to change what I'm doing to stop this so called climate change. But atleast now we know that the left is like bards from the Renaissance. If you give them money they'll throw shade at anyone you like and if you don't give them money they'll throw shade at you or whoever else they please
4ºgood for you Bezos'! i don;t agree with you spending all that money to go for the joy-ride up in the sky. but(having watched CNN for long time now>and seeing the intelligence, warmth, caring and decency of Van Jones(he is a great man!( and am sure he will use that money given to him for good works and humanitarian projects, the other guy>the chef, don;t know much about him, but think he was the chef who cooked meals for all those starving peoples, so again will do good things with that money so again GOOD on you Bezos, for giving that to him!
5ºWe need half a dozen new tax brackets above the top bracket what we have now. Someone who makes $230,000 a year pays the same top rate as someone who makes $5 million or $50 million. The top rate on income over $25 million should be whatever it needs to be to balance the budget in a normal year. We've transferred $80 trillion in wealth to the top 1% in the last 40 years since Reagan turned the tax code upside down and they've transferred most of it to off-shore tax shelters. Either that or get rid of the military and health care for those over 65. Yes, people who make more should pay a higher because by definition they get more from the economic system.
6ºThis is wonderful, of course. He and his ex-wife have been quite generous with their donations -- as they should be. But anyone want to venture a guess on how 'donations' from the wealthy would compare to the amount of Federal taxes those same folks would/should be paying if it weren't for our current tax code favoring them with so many loopholes that they pay -0-?! Think what wage increases might have been over the past 40 years without the GOPs belief in a theory that has been disproven many times over. Philanthropy only provides a trickle in the overall scheme of things. The 'trickle-down theory' doesn't work!!! What if everyone paid taxes using the 'short form'?! Just food for thought.
7ºI am very happy for Van Jones. He has always been the one to stand up for what is right in society. I’ve always feared for him being sacked by CNN because many times he didn’t allow himself to be caught up in the misinformation and political inaccuracy that they published. I hope that he will find it necessary to help the Black Business owners who lost their businesses during the protest and looting prior to the 2020 Election. There are also many African Americans living in poverty as a result of the Pandemic. I sincerely hope that he will have consideration for these people who are suffering through no fault of their own.
8ºTypical Bezos BS. He’s tone deaf and thinks this makes him look charitable.
A “donation” CNN, really? - other news outlets are using the word “give” “award,” etc. A donation is to a nonprofit cause not an individual. You are being biased but that’s nothing new.
Look it’s his right to give to anyone or cause he chooses. It’s his money after all.
It’s my right to judge his decision when he makes it so public.
Van Jones? WTF! Yeah he’s been involved with charities and that’s great, so have I on a lower level as I’ve worked for charities my entire career.
But why am I the only one in this comment thread noticing that he gave $100 million to a rich commentator for being civil.
I don’t know the other guy, but if Andres is so charitable then there should be a requirement to give 90% to their charity of choice.
Why didn’t he give them $1M? In no world will this fix our civility problem.
Why doesn’t he start by treating Amazon workers well?
It’s his money, I just don’t like him or his choices.
9ºNice for those two guys but that amount is nothing to him. He probably did it because no one likes him as we all see him for the greedy weasel he is. No one needs 200 billion dollars. He could do so much good in the world but instead he donates only a bit so he can get a bigger tax write off. Think what 100 million could do to build affordable housing or buy food for food banks etc. Cool he gave 2 millionaires more millions(Van Jones net worth 5 million, Chef Andre net worth 50 Million). Still can't pay his own workers better wages or treat them right. Sod off with your pathetic attempt to make him look good. When he actually does something worth noting I'll be the first to clap my hands for him.
10ºI'm sorry (NOT!) but this doesn't excite me or make me feel happy for them in any way. I'm just like "Why?" and a bit upset because Bezos could've just dedicated at least 1 of those contributions to his fricking employees. I can't believe this is what the rich & wealthy do. So many people are suffering. That $100 million could FEED people, build schools, launch and/or support small businesses...like...smh. Hanif & Jaszel Can you guys believe this? And he mainly did it because people were criticizing him for spending BILLIONS on an 11 minute space flight and not doing enough philanthropy .