What did Bezos say about the criticism of his space travel?
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New York (CNN Business) -
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the world's richest man, said Tuesday after flying to the edge of space that he planned to award $ 100 million each to CNN contributor Van Jones and the chef José Andrés.
Bezos said Jones and José Andrés were free to do "whatever they want" with the money.
"They can give it all to their own charity," Bezos said at a news conference after his trip to space.
"Or they can share the wealth. It's up to them."
The money, Bezos said, was tied to a "surprise" philanthropic initiative he wanted to announce called the Courage and Civility Award.
Why did Jeff Bezos go into space and return within a few minutes?
The award is intended to honor those who have "shown courage" and tried to be unifiers in a divided world, Bezos added.
"We need unifiers and not denigrators," Bezos said.
"We need people who argue strongly and act energetically for what they believe in. But always do so with civility and never
ad hominem
attacks
. Unfortunately, we live in a world where this does not happen too often. But we have role models of conduct".
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Jones, accepting the award, said that "sometimes dreams come true."
"You bet on me and I appreciate it," Jones told Bezos, later adding that for him it was money to "give to others who have a similar spirit."
Andrés, who for his part has turned to feeding the needy around the world, said that the prize itself "cannot feed the world by itself."
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"But," Andrés added, "this is the beginning of a new chapter for us."
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Anderson Cooper, who was hosting CNN's special coverage on Tuesday, said on the air after Bezos announced the award that it was "quite a surprise."
"None of us knew anything about it," Cooper said.
This was Bezos's 10-minute trip to space 2:20
Bezos' philanthropic initiative comes as he and other billionaires like Richard Branson, the Virgin Galactic investor, face criticism for spending their wealth on space tourism.
Bezos has previously been criticized for not contributing more to philanthropy, but he has donated billions of dollars in recent years to causes such as climate change and food banks.
Critics have said that the richest people in the world should work to improve the conditions of people here on Earth, instead of flying into space.
Bezos and supporters of space programs, however, have countered that both are possible.
"I say they are very right. We have to do both," he said in an interview with CNN on Monday.
"You know, we have a lot of problems here and now on Earth and we have to work on them, and we always have to look to the future. We have always done it as a species, as a civilization. We have to do both."
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Chef José AndrésJeff Bezos