Eva Longoria says £39m Jeff Bezos charity grant is best birthday present ever

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has awarded a 50 million dollar (£39 million) grant to US actress Eva Longoria to be spent on charitable organisations.

Desperate Housewives star Longoria was awarded the Bezos Courage and Civility Award in a Washington DC ceremony, alongside fellow honouree Admiral William McRaven – who will receive the same grant.

“Of course, I am honoured and thrilled personally, but I am even more excited about the impact I think we can have on this country through/by investing in the strength of the Latino community,” Longoria said on Instagram.

“As you may know, 12 years ago, I started the Eva Longoria Foundation, because I wanted to give the Latino community the opportunities we deserve and truly unlock the positive impact that we can have on this country.”

Longoria thanked Bezos and his fiance Lauren Sanchez for their “endless generosity and huge hearts”, ending the post citing “best birthday present ever”, as she turns 49 on Friday.

Longoria told Elle magazine she plans to “continue doing what I’ve been doing” with the Eva Longoria Foundation, while also funding Eva’s Heroes – a charitable organisation within the Eva Longoria Foundation that supports the special needs community.

McRaven, a retired Navy admiral who oversaw the 2011 raid that killed al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, told Elle that he would split the grant between the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, supporting families of fallen service members, and the BrainHealth Project, which provides mental health support to veterans – as well as training future military leaders.

The Bezos Courage and Civility Award began in 2021 to support philanthropists addressing pressing problems in the modern world and embrace civility.