Amazon founder Jeff Bezos jointly gets `Prophets of Philanthropy` award in the Vatican

New Delhi: The world’s third richest person and founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos has received the ‘Prophets of Philantrophy’ award jointly with Chef Jose Andres at the Vatican city for their humanitarian and philanthropy works. Bezos and Andrés were the first recipients of the Prophets of Philanthropy award from the Galileo Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the work of the Catholic Church and Pope Francis.

"Our oceans are acidifying, and our fish stocks are declining. Soil is degrading, and deserts are encroaching," Bezos said in a speech accepting the award. "In almost all cases, it is the poor and vulnerable who are suffering most from these disasters, while they have done the least to cause them. Caring for nature is caring for people. This message is one that we must continue to spread."

Jeff Bezos has currently stood at the third position in the Forbes richest people list followed Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault, according to the Forbes real-time richest people list. His wealth pegs around $138.5 billion. After leaving as a position of chairman in Amazon board, he has taken a lot of philantorphy work lately. Recently, he took a divorce with his wife Scott Mackenzee. The later is also in a spree to give donations to an array of organizations clandestinely.

At an interfaith gathering with 145 philanthropists from five different religions, the Prophets of Philanthropy award was presented. In his remarks, Bezos brought up his family's ties to the Catholic Church, noting that the church welcomed his father when he came to the United States from Cuba as a young man without any knowledge of the language. They provided him with housing, education, and opportunities that he otherwise would not have had, according to Bezos. "Later, when the cycle progressed, he gave me those chances. Sitting here in the Vatican today, I would like to thank the Church for that gift."