Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson are facing backlash after urging the public to give money to help victims of the Maui wildfires, while they themselves jointly donated just $10 million — a tiny fraction of their enormous wealth.
Both Winfrey and Johnson recently appeared in a video posted to Instagram and other social media sites to announce the People’s Maui Fund, which is intended to raise money for those impacted by the recent wildfires. “We are honored to start the campaign with $10 million and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes,” the post stated.
Winfrey’s estimated net worth is $2.5 billion. If she gave $5 million to the fund, that would represent less than 1 percent of her wealth.
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Dwayne Johnson’s net worth is estimated to be around $800 million.
The celebrities are facing social media backlash over their effort, with numerous commenters questioning why ordinary people are being asked to donate when Winfrey and Johnson are giving relatively little in relation to their net worths.
“Math ain’t mathing with this one. You guy’s literally have so much money…. You can donate it and make it back within a year,” one top comment with over 10,000 likes stated, according to an Insider report.
Another commenter reportedly posted on TikTok: “I support Maui and the cause. But why are you asking us common folk who live paycheck to paycheck. We struggle to put food on table. Who helps us?”
Some TikTok users reportedly posted videos reacting to the clip, saying Winfrey and Johnson should be shelling out more money or asking their celebrity friends to pledge instead of appealing to the general public.
Winfrey posted a follow-up video saying 10,000 people have donated to the fund thus far.
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Winfrey, who owns palatial property in Maui, already faced public backlash when, as Breitbart News reported, a camera crew that had been accompanying her during her visit to a shelter for Maui fire evacuees was turned away due to a no-media policy.
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