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Dolly Parton receives $100 million from Jeff Bezos for philanthropic work

Dolly Parton has received a a $US100 million ($149 million AUD) prize awarded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for her philanthropic work. The country music start received the Bezos Courage & Civility Award, which recognises leaders who "pursue solutions with courage and civility". Bezos, along with his partner Lauren Sanchez, announced the award on Friday, with Sanchez saying in an instagram post that Dolly Parton is "a woman who gives with her heart and leads with love and compassion in every aspect of her work". "We can't wait to see all the good that you're going to do with this $100 million award," she said. Parton, in a video clip of the ceremony posted online, said, "Wow! Did you say $100 million?" "I think people who are in a position to help should put their money where their heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money," she said. The 76-year-old musician has long been known for her decades-long work as a philanthropist, as she most notably donated $US1 million to Vanderbilt University's Medical Center to help develop a vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic. Parton, who this month was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, also has founded a number charities including the Dollywood Foundation, which focuses on education as well as poverty relief. Image credits: Getty Images

Money & Banking

“An absolute disaster”: Prince William calls out billionaires’ space race

Prince William has called out the billionaires currently competing in a space tourism race instead of focusing their efforts on the environmental problems on Earth. The Duke of Cambridge directed thinly-veiled criticism at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson during a BBC interview at Kensington Palace. The three billionaires have been embroiled in a recent race to provide private commercial space travel. “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live,” <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-15/prince-william-urges-billionaires-put-planet-before-space-race/100541038" target="_blank">William said</a>. The interview comes after Mr Musk announced his focus on reaching Mars, and after Mr Bezos said that his inaugural space flight was part of building a road to space “so that our kids and their kids can build a future”. “We need to do that to solve the problems here on Earth,” Mr Bezos said. The Amazon founder recently celebrated his second suborbital space flight, which included Star Trek actor William Shatner among its passengers. The British royal family has made a trend of speaking out on environmental issues, with William following in the steps of his father Prince Charles and late grandfather Prince Philip. Prince Charles has been calling for action to stop climate change for decades, often facing ridicule for his stance. The 72-year-old heir to the throne <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/prince-charles-shocked-that-morrison-not-confirmed-for-glasgow-climate-conference?fbclid=IwAR0yBM3BrGS_5kZp0-E8kfD0lmaoVumFZDUhBcq0LmueyAmeR1gHv8fOk8I" target="_blank">recently described</a> the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow as a “last chance saloon” for combating climate change, sharing how he tries so hard to encourage world leaders to attend and take action. “It’s been a hard road for him. He’s had a really rough ride on that, and I think he’s been proven to being well ahead of the curve,” William said. “But it shouldn’t be that there’s a third generation now coming along having to ramp it up even more.” William also warned that not taking action now could be “robbing from our children’s future”. “For me, it would be an absolute disaster if [my son] George is sat here in 30 years’ time, still saying the same thing, because by then we will be too late. “Now I’ve got children as well and speaking to other parents, it’s a bit of a cliche, but you do start to see the world differently. “I want the things that I’ve enjoyed - the outdoor life, the nature, the environment - I want that to be there for my children, and not just my children but everyone else’s children.” The prince said the key to tackling the issue was to “bring people with us”. “People have got to feel like there’s hope, there’s a chance we can fix this.” He also echoed his father’s message, saying the upcoming COP26 conference had to result in action. “We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action,” William said. In response to the issue of climate change, William created the Earthshot Prize, with the aim of using new technologies or policies to solve Earth’s biggest environmental problems. Image: @KensingtonRoyal / Twitter

Travel Trouble

Oldest woman makes it to space 60 years after training

60 years after she first completed astronaut training, Wally Funk has become the oldest person to reach space. Ms Funk was one of the so-called Mercury 13 - a group of women who trained to become NASA astronauts in the 1960s. Despite her training, she was denied the opportunity to go to space because of her gender. She was 21 at the time, and the youngest of the women who passed the same testing as the Mercury Seven male astronauts in NASA’s program that sent Americans into space between 1961 and 1963. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to go up,” Ms Funk said in a video interview on NASA’s website. But, the 82-year-old was finally able to make the journey as one of Jeff Bezos’ three co-passengers aboard the Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle during its historic suborbital flight. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> "Guess what: It doesn't matter what you are. You can still do it if you want to do it. And I like to do things that nobody has ever done." ~Wally Funk ❤️✈️🚀 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyWallyFly?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyWallyFly</a> <a href="https://t.co/zispvzshnm">pic.twitter.com/zispvzshnm</a> — Dr. Tanya Harrison (@tanyaofmars) <a href="https://twitter.com/tanyaofmars/status/1417460508731523085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2021</a></blockquote> She also set the new record as the oldest person to launch into space, a title previously held by the late John Glenn, who was 77 when he flew aboard the Discovery space shuttle in 1998. “I’ve been waiting a long time,” Ms Funk said afterward. “The four of us, we had a great time. I want to go again – fast.” Ms Funk was a passenger alongside Mr Bezos’ brother Mark, and Oliver Daemon, the 18-year-old who became the youngest person to fly to space. The vehicle reached an altitude of about 106 kilometres during the 10 minute flight. “I felt like I was just laying down. I was just laying down and I was going to space,” Ms Funk said. It isn’t the first time Ms Funk has set a record, having been both the first female flight instructor at a US military base and the first woman to become an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. “I’ve done a lot of astronaut training through the world, Russia, America. And I could always beat the guys on what they were doing because I was always stronger and I’ve always done everything on my own,” Ms Funk said after the flight. “And I didn’t do dolls … I did outside stuff. I flew airplanes, 19,000 some hours. I loved it and I loved being here with all of you, your family,” she told Mr Bezos. She added that she would “cherish that forever”. Footage from the flight showed the weightless passengers floating, doing somersaults, tossing Skittles and throwing balls. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Blue Origin video from inside the New Shepard capsule in space: Jeff Bezos: “Who wants a Skittle?” <a href="https://t.co/SUO6sAYZAE">pic.twitter.com/SUO6sAYZAE</a> — Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1417522168078893056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2021</a></blockquote> The crew also took a number of mementos with them on the trip, including a piece of fabric from the Wright brothers’ first place and a pair of goggles belonging to Amelia Earhart. Image: IWASM / Twitter

Retirement Income

Jeff Bezos slams “sickening” response to Black Lives Matter post

Jeff Bezos has told a racist customer he’s happy to lose his business. The founder of online giant Amazon has shared the “sickening” email he received from a customer after his company showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Bezos took to Instagram to post a screenshot of the email which used the N-word multiple times and warned that Amazon’s anti-racist stance “will ruin your company”. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJrhdzHKNt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJrhdzHKNt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">There have been a number of sickening but not surprising responses in my inbox since my last post. This sort of hate shouldn’t be allowed to hide in the shadows. It’s important to make it visible. This is just one example of the problem. And, Dave, you’re the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/jeffbezos/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Jeff Bezos</a> (@jeffbezos) on Jun 7, 2020 at 3:50pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “I cancelled my order and I know for a fact that I won’t be the only one,” wrote the customer named Dave. “Maintain your stance and we will watch your profits decline and laugh about it.” Bezos revealed that there had been a “number of sickening but not surprising responses” in his inbox since his last post, which also shared an email from a customer denouncing the company. “This sort of hate shouldn’t be allowed to hide in the shadows,” he wrote in the recent post. “It’s important to make it visible. This is just one example of the problem. “And, Dave, you’re the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.” In another post, Bezos shared his response to a customer named Macy who told him all lives mattered. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEcwTgneUY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEcwTgneUY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">I got this email from a customer and wanted to share my response.</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/jeffbezos/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Jeff Bezos</a> (@jeffbezos) on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:05pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “It is quite disturbing to get on the Amazon website and see Black Lives Matter,” she wrote. “I am for everyone voicing their opinions and standing up for what you believe in, but for your company to blast this on your website is very offensive to me and I’m sure you’ll be hearing from others.” The billionaire responded by saying “black lives matter” doesn’t mean other lives didn’t matter. “Black lives matter speaks to racism and the disproportionate risk that black people face in our law enforcement and justice system,” he told her. “I have a 20-year-old son, and I simply don’t worry that he might be choked to death while being detained one day. It’s not something I worry about. Black parents can’t say the same.” Bezos said his stance wouldn’t change.

Money & Banking

The world’s richest man announces divorce after 25 years of marriage

The world’s richest man and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is ending his 25-year marriage with wife MacKenzie. “We have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends,” the couple said in an announcement posted on Bezos’s Twitter page. “Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <a href="https://t.co/Gb10BDb0x0">pic.twitter.com/Gb10BDb0x0</a> — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/1083004911380393985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2019</a></blockquote> Bezos is the world’s wealthiest person with a current estimated worth of US$137.1 billion (AU$191 billion) according to Forbes. The 54-year-old owns 16 per cent of tech giant Amazon, which is worth about US$130 billion (AU$ 181.2 billion). Bezos also owns space company Blue Origin and newspaper The Washington Post. MacKenzie Bezos is a novelist with two published books. She was known for supporting her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s business early on in their marriage by working as an accountant. She also founded anti-bullying organisation Bystander Revolution in 2014. The couple, who has three sons and an adopted daughter, met at investment firm D.E. Shaw in 1993 where they worked together. They got engaged after three months of dating. The couple lives in Washington State, which requires divorcing couples to split any assets gathered during the marriage. This means MacKenzie may leave the union with US$75 billion (AU$104.6 billion) in stock and become the world’s richest woman, eclipsing Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who currently holds the title with US$44.5 billion (AUS$62 billion) net worth. However, no financial details have been revealed about the divorce.

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