Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez' Earth Fund has committed a huge $100million to a new environmental alliance that aims to fund global teams working to save species from extinction.
The Earth Fund is one of nine founding members of the Species Recovery Alliance, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re:wild, the Rainforest Trust, the Colossal Foundation, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Fondation Segré, the Franklinia Foundation, the Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust, and WildLives Earth.
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The nine members have committed a total of $500 million to the alliance, which is headed up by Cristián Samper, the fund’s managing director and leader of nature solutions; Lauren shared the news on October 22, 2026, on Instagram, highlighting the Earth Fund's 20% share.
In August, Jeff, Lauren and Leonardo also partnered to create the Phoenix Species Project, dedicated to the recovery of critically endangered species across habitats and countries.
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"Kids fall in love with animals before anyone tells them those animals are disappearing. Ask any seven-year-old about their favorite creature. It’s something wild," Lauren said at the time.
"Something most adults have never heard of. What do we tell them when the night parrot or the golden-crowned sifaka isn’t there anymore to fall in love with? This project is our answer."
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The new alliance will allow the members to control where their investments go, rather than one shared fund, but progress will be measured via the IUCN’s Red List and Green Status of Species
The IUCN's Red List features more than 49,500 species.
The Earth Fund was launched in 2020 with a $10billion pledge to protect nature and fight climate change. It is the largest individual philanthropic commitment to climate and nature ever; Jeff, the founder of Amazon, is worth $372 billion.
Lauren is the public face of the Fund and its Vice-Chair; according to Fortune, in the last 12 months it has donated "$34 million for sustainable fabrics, $26 million for wildfire detection, $100 million to turn vacant urban land into parks in eight U.S. cities, and more than $25 million in Pacific Ocean grants in September."
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The 56-year-old also uses her own platform to share updates.
In October, she revealed that the Fernandina Galápagos Tortoise, which was once lost to science for more than a century, has a "real chance at recovery" thanks to the Phoenix Species Project, and has also used social media to share the unusual materials that can be used to make clothes.
Lauren married Jeff in June 2025 in Venice, Italy in front of 200 famous friends including Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady, Oprah Winfrey and Leonardo.
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Lauren walked down the aisle in a custom bridal gown by Italian luxury label Dolce & Gabbana that featured 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons, and a tulle-and-lace veil, inspired by Sophia Loren's 1958 film Houseboat.
The three-day celebration, a display of Bezos' enormous wealth, also became the site of dozens of protests by various groups, particularly focused around the wealth gap and the irony that the founders of the Earth Fund chose Venice, a lagoon city known for its rapidly declining environment.
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"If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax," read one huge banner that was unfurled in the city center.
Bezos donated $1.17 million each to three environmental research organizations working to preserve Venice, according to Corila, the Venetian environmental research association.
