Bezos family donates $710m to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

NEW YORK, Oct 13, (AP): The Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center announced a $710 million gift from the Bezos family, the largest gift the center has ever received and one of the largest to go to any single cancer research organization in recent years.

The donation will fund 36 new research labs, the building of a large research facility, investments in clinical trial infrastructure and immunotherapy research over ten years, the center said Wednesday.

Thomas Lynch, president and director of the center, rebranded this month as Fred Hutch, but widely known as The Hutch, said he worked with Mike and Jackie Bezos, who made the gift, to understand what motivated their giving. Jackie Bezos is the mother of Amazon found Jeff Bezos, while her husband, Mike, is Jeff Bezos’ stepfather. Jeff Bezos, the world’s second wealthiest person, stepped down from his role as CEO of Amazon in July 2021.

Lynch learned the Bezos family deeply valued collaboration in research and treatment.

“But don’t underestimate the importance of urgency,” Lynch said in an interview. “Because I think that’s something that I feel passionately about and I know that Mike and Jackie feel passionately about being able to bring cures to patients soon.”

The Bezos family has previously given almost $68 million to The Hutch’s research since 2009, the center said. It declined to say whether Mike and Jackie Bezos had given through their foundation or through another entity. A communications firm that previously worked with the Bezos Family Foundation directed requests for comment back to The Hutch.