Did Oprah rebuild Maui mansion with $40M FEMA grant? Viral claim debunked

Recently, an unconfirmed claim regarding Oprah Winfrey went viral on social media. 

The story alleged that the media mogul used a $40 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to rebuild her Maui mansion. Many quickly concluded and called out Winfrey due to the viral claim. However, there is no evidence that Oprah is seeking a $40M fund and using it to rebuild her property in Maui. 

A credible fact-checker like Snopes also debunked the claim targeting the OWN CEO. The fabricated story originated from a Facebook page, America's Last Line Of Defense (ALLOD), known for its satirical claims. The original post was published on August 22

“Oprah Winfrey took a $40 million construction grant from FEMA to rebuild her mansion after the Maui fires. The only problem is…not a single inch of her property burned.” 

ALLOD’s bio clarifies that none of the posts on the page are real. Thus, the rumor about Winfrey taking the FEMA grant money for Maui wildfire victims is also untrue, despite many depicting it as factual on social media. Furthermore, it was not the only post from ALLOD that tried to satirize Oprah Winfrey, as the account made similar claims multiple times. 

In one of the older posts, the satire page published an article via Dunning-Kruger-Times.com and stated that the media executive had received a $35M grant. In another satirical post, ALLOD claimed that Winfrey got $22M. Like the recent viral post, all previous claims from ALLOD are also satire and untrue. 

While there is no proof that Oprah had taken any grant to rebuild her Maui house, she was among the celebrities who provided financial help to the victims of the 2023 Hawaii wildfires. The media personality set up a fund with Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and encouraged others to donate. However, the talk show host and wrestler-actor also faced some criticism at the time. 

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson launched People’s Fund of Maui in 2023, while pledging $10M donation

We're honored to announce the People’s Fund of Maui, a fund putting money directly in the pockets of those who were affected by the recent wildfires.

As @Oprah and I have seen firsthand, the impacts of these wildfires have been devastating, and we’re here to ensure with 100%… pic.twitter.com/iH6cPwbQ3k

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 31, 2023

Amidst the 2023 Hawaii wildfires that predominantly affected Maui, the media executive joined hands with the Black Adam star to raise funds to help the victims. In a video, the pair announced the launch of the People’s Fund of Maui, which aimed to provide direct financial help to those who lost their residences in the disaster. Winfrey said: 

“We were so concerned about what was happening in Maui that we were texting back and forth.” 

She shared that Dolly Parton’s efforts in 2017 to financially help the Gatlinburg wildfire victims through “My People Fund” inspired their cause. Oprah continued: 

“So we have created the People’s Fund of Maui, that will put money directly in the hands of the people who need it right now.”

Winfrey and The Rock encouraged the viewers to donate to the People’s Fund of Maui. The Fate of the Furious star shared his scepticism toward the transparency of other charities and asserted that their fund aimed at helping people directly, with immediacy. 

According to the Rock’s official tweet, the fund focused on crediting $1,200/month to the bank accounts of the adults displaced by wildfires in Lahaina and Kula. In addition to encouraging others to help, the duo pledged $10 million to kickstart the campaign. 

However, many on social media criticized Oprah and The Rock for asking others to donate while having massive net worths. In September 2023, Winfrey opened up about the criticism during an appearance on CBS Mornings. She recounted: 

“I was so excited. I got up the next morning and I saw all of this vitriol and I was like whoa what happened here.” 

Oprah continued: 

“I want to say that, you know, I think in the beginning so many people were calling asking, ‘Where do we give our money to?’ So,I thought I'm going to give people a place [...] We're going to create something and I still think it's a really strong idea. Dolly Parton was right. Putting money directly into the hands of the people is a significant thing.” 

Winfrey also shared that at the time of the interview, 2,200 people were cleared and verified to receive monetary help through the People’s Fund of Maui. The talk show host briefly mentioned that she was sad about the “state in our country” while addressing the criticism she and the Rock received.