WelCom, September 2024
Pope Francis met with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, last month at the Vatican to discuss climate change. The meeting was at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Pope’s residence.
In an Instagram post 15 August, Sánchez said the Pope’s wisdom, warmth, and humour were deeply touching.‘ He reminded us not to take life too seriously, a simple yet powerful reminder to keep lightness in our hearts,’ she wrote. The meeting was not listed on the Pope’s official agenda nor publicised through the Vatican’s media channels. Sánchez wrote the three of them discussed the ‘urgent need for climate action’, a passion she said she shares as vice-chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.
In March, Sánchez announced the Bezos Earth Fund would invest $60 million in centres focused on biomanufacturing and creating alternative proteins. Bezos has committed to spending $10 billion on fighting climate change through the fund.