Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have teamed up to help the people of Maui. The pair of entertainment industry A-listers announced that they had launched a $10 million fund to directly help residents of the island affected by the recent wildfires. "We are honored to start this campaign with $10 million dollars and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes," Johnson said. "We thank you in advance for your contribution." Winfrey, who lives part-time in Maui, has been on the island in recent weeks, visiting shelters and helping distribute supplies.
Wildfires ravaged the island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi, earlier this month. Driven by the perfect storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds blew the fires across the island. Additional fires started when live electric poles collapsed. Hundreds were evacuated and millions of dollars of property was destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā. Meanwhile, the official death tally now stands at 115. Furthermore, smaller and quickly-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai’i and O’ahu.
The Rock And Winfrey Put LA To Shame
The $10 million fund from The Rock and Oprah will go a long way to helping the affected residents of the island. The same can't be said for some other charitable donations. Earlier this month, the Lakers announced that the 12 LA pro sports teams (Angels, Angel City FC, Chargers, Clippers, Dodgers, Ducks, Galaxy, Kings, LAFC, Lakers, Rams, and Sparks) had come together to make a joint donation to victims of the wildfires. Those 12 franchises are worth a combined $31 billion. However, they gave a joint donation of just $450,000. That’s an average contribution of $37,500.
For context, The Rock and Oprah, are aiming to give 22 times more money to the relief efforts. This is despite their net worth being nine times smaller than the 12 Los Angeles sports teams. As a reminder, the Lakers are paying LeBron James $47.6 million for the 2023-24 season. However, hopefully, the "People's Fund of Maui" can be put to good use and help the displaced families find some semblance of recovery.
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