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Elon Musk is responsible for “killing the world’s poorest children,” says Bill Gates
(arstechnica.com)
this post was submitted on 08 May 2025
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Nah, I saw a year or two back that Bill was pulling back from his climate and disease philanthropy. I think this is just him jumping on a chance to do some PR by dunking on Musk.
There was a recent announcement where he reiterated a goal of giving away 99% of his wealth! Of course you could quibble about his choices of charity and how he built his wealth, but the formerly wealthiest person in the US giving away 99% is a huge deal, and we can not dream of other billionaires following suit.
While Musk isn’t retired yet, how much has he donated to any cause? Yes, Musk deserves this PR dunk
Musk deserves a lot more than just a PR dunk, but I'm still not entirely convinced that it's just a cynical PR play. Hopefully Bill will prove me wrong.
Do you have a source? The only thing I can see is much more recent, and isn't philanthropy, but lobbying.
He's apparently reduced his climate change related lobbying under the new administration... which sounds like a rational response, because this administration is actively hostile to any and all climate change initiatives.
What's the point in donating to lobby for windmills when Don ~~Quixote~~ Cheeto is in charge?
Frankly, I don't. I read something about it a while back, and I remember being really disappointed that he was stepping back from that.
Cool story bro.
What purpose does he need PR work done?
Well, a few things:
they say the only bad press is no press.
We're at a moment where anger against the wealthiest people on the planet has never been higher, except maybe during a revolution. Bill is among this group, and he's likely cognizant that Dingus and Doofus up in DC are exacerbating that sentiment. Maybe he's hedging his bets to keep from getting put against the wall.
Didn't he fly to Epstein Island? Wasn't it shortly after we found out about that that Melinda divorced him? Probably not the most recent thing he'd like to be remembered for.
Gates was always widely reviled. He didn’t build a vast fortune drowning competitors and locking customers into frustrating experiences by being a Boy Scout.
Maybe you dismiss his actions in retirement as an attempt to resurrect his reputation, but it’s succeeded. Compare to other billionaires. Did he keep building wealth until he died? No. Did he focus on establishing a dynasty or wealthy chain of heirs? No. Did he buy his way into politics? No. Did he only donate to one place? No. Did his foundation fade away into obscurity and irrelevance? No. Did he donate to the most popular causes among billionaires? No. Now try to find a billionaire who has done as much good for as many people. From anywhere in history
It’s easy to find fault in anyone, but this is the wrong windmill to tilt at.