Keanu Reeves donated 70% of his Matrix salary to Leukaemia research

When you’re looking for evidence that not all celebrities are self-obsessed weirdos, it’s difficult to go past Keanu Reeves. Deadset, the proof that he’s one of the good guys is thick on the ground, and there always seems to be more of it. Yeah, nah, even though there’s plenty of well-documented evidence that he’s a top bloke, there’s always more to talk about. Like the fact he’s donated most of his Matrix salary to Leukaemia research…

Look, we’ll admit this probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard this.

That’s okay, though, in a world of entitled celebrities who think the world owes them and who feel like they can do whatever the hell they please.

It’s always important to remember that Keanu Reeves exists.

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Of course, it’s probably also easier for Keanu to donate lots of time, energy, and resources to charities than it is for the average battler, but you can’t take away the fact that he does it through choice – and whereas a lot of this is obvious tax-avoidance when some celebrities are involved, Keanu’s history explains a lot of why he does it.

After all, the reason he chose Leukaemia research as the main beneficiary of his Matrix salary is personal as f**k. His younger sister battled the disease for ten years, and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Credit: Getty

In the early 90s, he became her main carer, saying, “She was always there for me, you know. I will always be here for her.” On top of that, though, once she had recovered, Reeves wanted to keep giving back to the charities and organisations that help cancer patients. He set up a charity of his own and didn’t attach his name to it.

“I have a private foundation that’s been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children’s hospitals and cancer research. I don’t like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does,” he said in 2009.

Credit: Getty

It’s understood that Reeves was paid an initial 10 million for the first Matrix film, spent $5 million on therapies to help his sister recover, and the remaining bulk of his donations went into setting up the charity.

Final thought: Yeah, nah, as we said above, Reeves is a bloody legend. He seems like a genuinely top bloke, and the evidence of that is all over the internet. What a champ!

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Unexplainable Shit #2

H/T: 9GAG.