Oprah Winfrey Donates $10 Million To Coronavirus Relief

Oprah Winfrey is the latest billionaire to step up amid the coronavirus pandemic. The television mogul today announced she will donate $10 million to coronavirus relief efforts.

In an Instagram post, Winfrey said “I was struck by the work these organizations are doing and while everyone’s priority right now is to stay safer at home, I know there are many of us looking for ways to help.”

Part of the donation—$1 million—will go to a new initiative called America’s Food Fund, which will help feed local communities. The fund, which launched today, is a joint effort by activist and chef José Andrés, who founded World Central Kitchen; Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot; actor Leonardo DiCaprio; fellow billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs; and Apple. It is accepting donations on GoFundMe and has already raised over $12 million.

Winfrey wasn’t specific about how she will donate the remaining $9 million, but did say it will go to Americans in cities across the country, as well as where she grew up, in rural Mississippi, Milwaukee and Tennessee.

Help is needed now more than ever as COVID-19 cases rise, topping one million worldwide, and people find themselves laid off. In the U.S., unemployment claims hit a record 6.6 million last week and requests for food stamps are surging.

Since the pandemic began, Winfrey, who has a net worth of $2.5 billion, has been hosting free conversations with streaming serviceApple TV+, with which she has a multi-year pact. These include talks with Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a trauma psychologist; DJ D-Nice, who has been hosting popular virtual quarantine parties; and actor Idris Elba, who tested positive for coronavirus.

Winfrey joins dozens of billionaires who have donated money and supplies in attempts to combat COVID-19.

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, announced today a $100 million gift to Feeding America, which supports food banks across the country. Bill Gates committed $100 million, part of which will go to the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control in efforts to find treatment and a vaccine, while Kylie Jenner donated $1 million to purchase masks.

LVMH’s Bernard Arnaut is using his perfume factories to manufacture hand sanitizer, and George Armani, who donated $2.2 million to hospitals in Italy, is also using his factories to make protective medical gear.

Celebrities, too, are donating. Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation has donated $6 million to coronavirus relief efforts in America, the Caribbean and Africa, of which Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation matched $1 million. Former Real Housewives of New York star and liquor entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel has donated over 1 million masks to hospitals, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively wrote a $1 million check to support food banks in America and Canada.