The outbreak of wildfires across Los Angeles County and ensuing evacuation of nearly 200,000 people galvanized celebrities—many of whom have lost homes or been forced to evacuate themselves—to donate supplies and money to relief efforts that have barely begun as the blazes rage on.
A litany of a-listers donated prizes to the SoCal Fire Fund and big-name artists will perform in late January at a star-studded benefit concert called FireAid. (more below).
Singer The Weeknd has said he will donate $1 million to organizations including the LAFD Foundation, GoFundMe’s Wildfire Relief Fund and LA Regional Bank after he canceled his planned performance at the Rose Bowl and delayed the release of his upcoming album „out of respect and concern for the people of Los Angeles County.“
Concert promoter and ticket seller Live Nation will donate $1 million to “assist performing musicians, live music crew and live music industry workers affected by the recent wildfires.”
Taylor Swift said on her Instagram story Thursday it’s been “heartbreaking to see” the devastation from the fires in Los Angeles and she encouraged people to donate to 10 organizations she said she had donated to, including 211 LA, Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Direct Relief and MusiCares.
The Wonderful Company, owned by billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, has said it will donate $10 million to Los Angeles fire relief efforts after pushing back against misleading claims about the company’s water use.
Netflix said it will donate $10 million split between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, California Community Fund Wildfire Recovery Fund, World Central Kitchen, Motion Picture and Television Fund and Entertainment Community Fund.
Comcast NBCUniversal pledged $10 million, including $2.5 million to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles‘ ReBUILD LA initiative.
The ASPCA launched a $5 million California Wildfire Response & Preparedness Fund to support welfare organizations seeing to animal needs in Southern California.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio said on his Instagram story Wednesday afternoon he committed $1 million with his nature conservation organization, Re:wild, to support “urgent needs and post-fire recovery efforts.”
YouTube and Google on Wednesday said they will contribute $15 million to organizations including Emergency Network Los Angeles, the American Red Cross, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Target will donate $1 million to groups helping with recovery, including the California Fire Foundation and League of California Community Foundation.
Billionaire Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and his wife Connie Ballmer said Wednesday the Ballmer Group will give $15 million in emergency funding to those impacted by the fires in Altadena.
The Ballmer Group, along with the Azoff Family, Live Nation and AEG Presents, will also host a benefit concert called FireAid, which they called “an evening of music and solidarity,” on Jan. 30.
Members of rock band The Eagles have reportedly pledged to donate $2.5 million to FireAid.
The band Metallica said its foundation, All Within My Hands, will donate $500,000 to a number of local charities assisting victims.
Banc of California, the largest independent LA-based bank, launched a $1 million recovery fund to support relief and rebuilding efforts.
The San Bernardino-based band Fuerza Regida rented a hotel to house more than 50 families displaced by the fires, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Twelve professional Los Angeles sports teams—Angel City FC, the Angels, Chargers, Clippers, Dodgers, Ducks, Galaxy, Kings, LAFC, Lakers, Rams and Sparks—will donate more than $8 million to wildfire relief organizations including the American Red Cross, California Fire Foundation and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
The same teams are also partnering with sports merchandise retailer Fanatics, founded by billionaire Michael Rubin, to distribute $3 million worth of merch to those who have been evacuated from their homes.
Online retail giant Amazon had pledged $10 million to local and national disaster response groups including the Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, Habitat for Los Angeles Wildfire Fund, and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Small Business Relief/Recovery Fund, as well as providing advertising slots on Prime Video for nonprofits supporting LA fire relief efforts.
Skechers, which is based in LA, pledged to donate $1 million to relief efforts led by organizations like the American Red Cross, Baby2Baby, the California Fire Foundation Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund, Pasadena Education Foundation’s Eaton Fire Response Fund and the YMCA Metropolitan Los Angeles.
Actress Eva Longoria said she will match donations to the organization This is About Humanity up to $50,000 to help frontline workers and families impacted and also announced she would give $1 million of a $50 million award she received from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos last year to support L.A. fire recovery.
Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation on Sunday said it would donate $2.5 million to the L.A. Fire Relief Fund to help those in Altadena and Pasadena who have lost homes, as well as to “churches and community centers to address the immediate needs of those affected by the wildfires” (Beyoncé and her husband, Jay Z, live in a $200 million Malibu mansion).
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—who have been seen visiting with firefighters tackling the Eaton fire—have reportedly made monetary donations to relief efforts; donated clothing, children’s items and other supplies, and directed people to support organizations including the World Central Kitchen, CAL FIRE, LA Fire Department Foundation, Animal Wellness Foundation, Compton Cowboys and Baby2baby. Markle also asked Netflix to delay the release of her new lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan,” from later his week to March 4 „as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California.“
Verizon is waiving call, text and data charges for customers in hard hit areas and said it will donate $500,000 each to the American Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
Airbnb last week announced it would work with a local nonprofit to provide free temporary housing to those displaced by the fires, and said it experienced „an absolute crush of applications, thousand and thousands.“
Walmart said it will donate $2.5 million worth of cash, food, water and other essentials to help with wildfire relief.
The Kroger grocery giant pledged $1 million to assist families impacted by the fire.
Disney has pledged $15 million in aid for those affected by the wildfires, with funds going toward organizations like the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the Los Angeles Regional Food bank, while additional resources would be offered to any affected employee.
Paramount donated $1 million to relief efforts, with donations to the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the California Fire Foundation, Direct Relief, World Central Kitchen and Best Friends Animal Society, according to an internal memo obtained by Variety.
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook wrote on X saying the company will be donating to support victims and recovery efforts, though he has not specified an amount.
FanDuel and its parent company Flutter Entertainment said the companies will donate a combined $250,000 to relief efforts, including donations to Americares and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
Fox Corp. has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross’ relief fund and encouraged the network’s viewers to support the organization’s efforts.
Paris Hilton, whose home was destroyed by the Palisades fire, launched an emergency fund through her nonprofit, 11:11 Media Impact, which has so far raised $800,000 for Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts, and on Tuesday she pledged a $150,000 grant to GoFundMe to provide immediate cash assistance to 150 displaced Altadena families.
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next administrator of NASA, has said he will match the first $1 million donated to his company’s relief campaign.
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, the third richest person in the world, and his wife Priscilla personally donated $2 million to organizations providing on-the-ground relief, and Meta as an organization said it donated $2 million to organizations including the American Red Cross, Direct Relief and Pasadena Humane Society.
Billionaire KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky said his charity, Frontline Impact Project, is „working to bring not just supplies, but a sense of hope and care to those affected.“
Jamie Lee Curtis, who feared she’d lost her own Santa Monica home before confirming the structure was safe, has pledged to donate $1 million to wildfire relief with her husband, actor and director Christopher Guest.
Curtis, an American Red Cross ambassador, also appeared on „The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon“ on Wednesday night, where she encouraged viewers to „do anything you can“ to help people: „Give blood, donate, whatever you can do, animal shelters,“ she said.
Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, posted that she was making an unspecified donation to the California Fire Foundation Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund, an extension of the California Fire Foundation.
The NFL will sell team-specific Rams and Chargers hats and shirts to benefit the LAFD Foundation; 50% of the Rams 50/50 Raffle from Monday’s game will be donated to the LAFD Foundation and American Red Cross; and the league is donating $5 million to wildfire relief efforts led by individual contributions from clubs and ownership groups from the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans and NFL Foundation.
Actresses Halle Berry and Sharon Stone have expressed support for a local boutique and home goods store, called +COOP, which has turned into a pop-up shop for those in need of clothing after losing their homes in the fire (Berry posted she was „packing up my entire closet“ to help displaced families).
Former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel said her charity, BStrong, has partnered with the Global Empowerment Mission to send aid to those affected.
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$2.5 million. That’s how much has been raised from 4,000 donors for the California Community Foundations Wildlife Recovery Fund, Los Angeles officials said Friday.
A benefit concert scheduled for late January called FireAid will raise money to „focus on rebuilding infrastructure, supporting displaced families, and advancing fire prevention technologies and strategies to ensure LA is better prepared for fire emergencies.“ Organizers have released the star-studded lineup for the show, which includes Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, P!nk, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Joni Mitchell, Gracie Abrams, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Nicks, among others. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 22 at noon PST. Prices have not been announced. FireAid will take place on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. EST at the Intuit Dome.
Celebrities and studios have donated a number of big-ticket items—including meet and greets with A-list stars—to a sweepstakes and auction set to benefit the SoCal Fire Fund. The sweepstakes, 100 entries for which can be bought for $10, includes prizes like lunch with actress Julia Roberts, a set visit to Andy Cohen’s „Watch What Happens Live“ and an all-inclusive trip to meet The Chainsmokers at the band’s Las Vegas show. A star-studded charity auction also includes experiences like meeting George Clooney at the „Good Night, and Good Luck“ premiere, a visit to the „Only Murders In The Building“ set in New York City and meeting Scarlett Johansson at the „Jurassic World: Rebirth“ premiere. The highest-dollar item, a round of golf with Larry David and Doc Rivers, is expected to sell for $30,000. The SoCal Fire Fund was launched by the Creative Artists Agency, Community Organized Relief Effort and the Los Angeles Unified School District Education Foundation. The fund will be administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation.
There are five fires still burning in the vicinity of Los Angeles, including the Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres, and the Eaton Fire, which has burned more than 14,000. The Eaton fire was 45% contained as of Thursday morning, and the Palisades fire was 21% contained. Smaller fires—the Hurst, Mountain and Auto fires—were also still burning Thursday. Other fires that have burned hundreds of acres include the Lidia Fire near the Angeles National Forest, Hurst Fire near San Fernando and Kenneth Fire just outside of Calabasas. Fires started burning in Los Angeles County on Jan. 7 and little is known about how they began. One fire, the Kenneth Fire, could have been started by a suspected arsonist who was arrested after neighbors spotted him with a “propane tank or flamethrower“ while „trying to light something on fire“—though L.A. police later said there wasn’t probable cause to charge him with arson. At least 25 people have died since the fires began. The most impacted area so far, the Pacific Palisades, is home to scores of celebrities and local landmarks. The average home price in the area is $3 million, and those including actor Adam Brody and his wife actress Leighton Meester; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick; Hilton; Billy Crystal; Tina Knowles; and reality TV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have all said they lost their homes in the fires.
The Los Angeles wildfires are likely the costliest in U.S. history about 18 months after a devastating wildfire in Hawaii became the deadliest blaze ever recorded in America. After the Maui fires, donations from billionaires and celebrities poured in, including $100 million from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez and $10 million from billionaire Oprah Winfrey and actor Dwayne Johnson.
