Lauren Sánchez shares Jeff Bezos' guiding principle for their $10 billion philanthropy effort
- Eva Longoria interviewed Lauren Sánchez for The Hollywood Reporter.
- The longtime friends chatted about Sánchez and Jeff Bezos' work on the Bezos Earth Fund.
- She said she and the Amazon founder are focused on making "systematic change."
Lauren Sánchez shed light on how she and her fiancé Jeff Bezos approach giving back.
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter published a conversation between Sánchez and Eva Longoria, who have been friends for 20 years.
During their chat, Longoria interviewed Sánchez about her philanthropic efforts, which she said had been a passion of hers for decades but may seem new to the public now that she is donating billions of dollars alongside Bezos.
"The giving — monetary giving — is so much bigger now," she told Longoria. "So I can see how, you know, people might think that, but my passion I think for giving back started extremely early."
Sánchez, 54, and Bezos, 60, have been in a public relationship since 2019, and they got engaged in the fall of 2023. He was previously married to MacKenzie Scott, who announced in March that she would donate $640 million to 361 nonprofits.
"Jeff is extremely focused, as you can imagine," Sánchez told Longoria of her and Bezos' "philosophy" for philanthropy. "We really look for organizations that are not only addressing urgent issues but also have a clear, impactful plan for making a difference. That's important."
"We're prioritizing areas where we can help drive a systematic change — it's about making these thoughtful, informed decisions to ensure that the contributions will have the greatest impact," she said.
Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos work on the Bezos Earth Fund together
Much of Longoria and Sánchez's conversation focused on her and Bezos' work on the Bezos Earth Fund.
Bezos launched the fund in 2020, pledging to invest $10 billion through 2030 to combat the climate crisis. The Amazon founder intends to donate the majority of his fortune to charity. However, he is still the second richest person in the world with a net worth of $215 billion, according to Forbes' real-time billionaire list.
Sánchez serves as the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, helping Bezos and the organization's staff determine where to invest.
Sánchez told Longoria that she and Bezos are focused on new technologies, restoring "critical ecosystems," and "protecting nature."
"Jeff always says, 'We have to invent our way out of this,'" Sánchez told Longoria. "And so, investing in these solutions, some may work, some will be a hit, and some won't. But that's how we're going to get out of this, by funding scientific research to develop new technologies like sustainable aviation fuels or what's called green cement."
Likewise, the fund set aside $60 million for the development of meat alternatives that are less costly to produce and tastier than what is currently on the market.
"The meat that they're making now tastes so good," Sánchez told Longoria. "I know that's hard to believe, but I've tasted it. And that's going to, I think, make a big impact."
In addition to her work with Bezos, Sánchez, previously a news anchor, also works with charitable organizations like This Is About Humanity, which supports families that get separated at the US-Mexico border.