Jeff Bezos Pays $200million to Get His Name Put on a Space Museum
The world’s second-richest man, Jeff Bezos has paid a whooping $200 million to name a new branch of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, after the Amazon founder traveled to space just once.
The Amazon founder will have his name displayed on the new Bezos Learning and several other locations around the museum for at least 50 years.
According to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, the donation is the largest gift ever given to the museum.
Reports say the gift was agreed after he blasted off into space in July 2021 and the majority of the money will go towards the Bezos Learning Center, a new science, technology, engineering and arts (STEAM) education center.
According to the terms of the agreement obtained by MarketWatch, the donation will cover the cost of renovations and new science, technology, engineering, and arts (STEAM) education center. It is set to be in a new building connected to the East Wing of the National Air and Space on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Along with the STEAM center, a major portion of the renovations will focus on the museum’s existing restaurant area this spring and replace it with the new building, with the aim of opening it in 2026 to mark the 50th anniversary of the National Air and Space Museum’s National Mall building and the 250th anniversary of the United States, a spokeswoman said.
Bezos’ name will also be written onto a new glass sculpture to honor all those who have donated $10 million or more, and displayed on a wall in the Distinguished Benefactors Room in the Smithsonian Castle, another donor wall at the National Air and Space Museum’s Virginia location.
