Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos donates $100 million to Feeding America

SEATTLE -- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Thursday, April 2 announced he was donating $100 million to help food banks across the United States.

This, amid a growing need for donations, with millions of Americans out of work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In an Instagram post, Bezos said the donation would be made to Feeding America, which would quickly send the funding to its network of food banks:



More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus.

In Washington state, 181,975 filed for unemployment benefits the week of March 22-28.

Applications for unemployment benefits generally reflect the pace of layoffs. Combined with last week’s report that 3.3 million people sought unemployment aid two weeks ago, the U.S. economy has now suffered nearly 10 million layoffs in just the past several weeks — far exceeding the figure for any corresponding period on record.