Thoughts: For anyone else concerned about American aid withdrawal from Africa, I'd like to offer a small it of good news. Keeping on mind that a "pledge" or a "commitment" has little legal...
Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that most of his $200bn (£150bn) fortune will be spent on improving health and education services in Africa over the next 20 years.
"I recently made a commitment that my wealth will be given away over the next 20 years. The majority of that funding will be spent on helping you address challenges here in Africa," he said in an address at the African Union (AU) headquarters.
Mozambique's former First Lady Graça Machel welcomed his announcement, saying it came in a "moment of crisis".
The US government has cut aid to Africa, including programmes to treat patients with HIV/Aids, as part of US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, raising concerns about the future of healthcare on the continent.
Thoughts:
For anyone else concerned about American aid withdrawal from Africa, I'd like to offer a small it of good news. Keeping on mind that a "pledge" or a "commitment" has little legal standing, I think Bill Gates' dedication to helping Africa has been a welcome change from what we see in other wealthy individuals exploiting and raping the continent.
This will free up what limited resources we have available to help with housing and education to the region, and groups that had to assist with this work can focus more on de-escalating violence and instability in the region.
Undoubtedly he's having conversations about he's up to with other billionaires, and if that's not swaying them, his work on new nuclear technology among other per projects should. What strikes me...
Undoubtedly he's having conversations about he's up to with other billionaires, and if that's not swaying them, his work on new nuclear technology among other per projects should.
What strikes me is that billionaires across the developed world aren't taking a similar stand with their own wealth (to my knowledge). They know they can't take it with them when they die, so what's with there only being a tiny percentage who commit to philanthropy?
We all know the fast, cynical and obvious answer to this, but even these people are human. Where's their sense of altruism?
People don't become billionaires by accident, most of the time it takes a higher level of sociopathy than baseline to get there. I think it's as simple as that. No doubt at least some of them can...
People don't become billionaires by accident, most of the time it takes a higher level of sociopathy than baseline to get there. I think it's as simple as that.
No doubt at least some of them can grow, and maybe find a little empathy. Cheers to Gates for providing a good example there. We also shouldn't forget about Buffet (pledges to give away 99% of his wealth) and dozens of billionaire signatories to the Giving Pledge. There's a definite trend among billionaires towards giving their wealth away at some point, or at least promising to.
It's crazy, because they're obsessed with acquiring something that's essentially useless to them. I can't even imagine anything I'd even want that costs more than a million dollars or so, but...
It's crazy, because they're obsessed with acquiring something that's essentially useless to them. I can't even imagine anything I'd even want that costs more than a million dollars or so, but there are people with thousands upon thousands of times that.
Like, I'd still want to eat an 8 dollar burrito for lunch. They don't make 80,000 dollar burritos. I'd still want to live in a house that I could walk from one end to the other without having to make a workout out of it.
What's the point after a certain level of wealth?
Even yachts realstically max out at like 50 million. Beyond that you're just paying for it to specifically be expensive.
It would be different if you could purchase super powers with a billion dollars or something, or you got an extra ten years of life for every 100 million you have, but money doesn't do that. After a certain level it just becomes pieces of paper that are essentially worthless to you.
Why not just do anything else with your life other than focusing on aquiring even more useless pieces of paper?
Yeah I agree. I think, for some, wealth becomes a proxy for basic emotional needs like security and self worth. Not in a rational way of course, at a billion dollars you're well past the point of...
Yeah I agree. I think, for some, wealth becomes a proxy for basic emotional needs like security and self worth. Not in a rational way of course, at a billion dollars you're well past the point of insulation where there is any reasonable security concern, but in a hindbrain sort of way. Winning, scorekeeping and comparison get looped in and it becomes a psychological quagmire, any individual part of which seems too trite and immature for the sufferer to feel comfortable consciously acknowledging it. Thereby making it a stubborn affliction.
A lot of non billionaires suffer from the same issues but without the wealth. Money as security is a powerful emotional force.
And then of course there's wealth as a proxy for power, and we know from history that there's no upper limit to the amount of power people will pursue.
Well you can kinda acquire super powers with billions. You might be able to go to Mars, or put someone else on Mars. Or save a species from extinction. Eradicate a disease. Humanity could just as...
Well you can kinda acquire super powers with billions. You might be able to go to Mars, or put someone else on Mars. Or save a species from extinction. Eradicate a disease. Humanity could just as easily do that without one person dispersing the funds. But I think they really crave the control and agency that a billion dollars give them.
I think many of them are trying to work on advanced solutions to aging (trying to be immortal, essentially) or they want to pass their significant power onto their legacy (there is this weird...
What strikes me is that billionaires across the developed world aren't taking a similar stand with their own wealth (to my knowledge). They know they can't take it with them when they die, so what's with there only being a tiny percentage who commit to philanthropy?
I think many of them are trying to work on advanced solutions to aging (trying to be immortal, essentially) or they want to pass their significant power onto their legacy (there is this weird fetishization of continuing the 'legacy' among the uber-elites.) So they push their money and influence into lobbies or organizations that their children or antecessors they've groomed into the position to take their place. I believe this is another reason why we've got specific individuals attempting to take Mars in their own name.
Yeah, agreed. I also think that there's a lot of people with money caught on the same hedonistic consumerist treadmill as the rest of us, but their luxuries are bigger, need more resources and...
Yeah, agreed. I also think that there's a lot of people with money caught on the same hedonistic consumerist treadmill as the rest of us, but their luxuries are bigger, need more resources and niche.
Hennessy and cocaine fueled orgies in Monaco? Lighting cigars made from endangered plants with flaming irreplaceable oil paintings? I bet they've got it all!
It's unclear to me if this is a change or some kind of re-announcement of what they were planning already. The Gates Foundation has been heavily involved in Africa all along. Looking at their 2023...
It's unclear to me if this is a change or some kind of re-announcement of what they were planning already. The Gates Foundation has been heavily involved in Africa all along. Looking at their 2023 budget, it doesn't break it down by continent, but only about 9% of it was spent on "United States program."
It's not necessarily a change, and its not really a re-announcement. I appreciate the link as it brings additional information into the conversation, so thank you for sharing that. I agree, The...
It's not necessarily a change, and its not really a re-announcement. I appreciate the link as it brings additional information into the conversation, so thank you for sharing that.
I agree, The Gates Foundation has done some tremendous work in the past, especially working on the AIDS and Malaria epidemics. Providing vaccination was mostly done by his group I believe. To my knowledge, they will be providing additional support onto what they had previously pledged in order to offset the withdrawal of the US Govt. resources. (I am more than happy to be corrected on that if I'm wrong, though)
He spoke at an Event/Conference to provide reassurances to African leaders, giving hope in a time of crisis.
Thoughts:
For anyone else concerned about American aid withdrawal from Africa, I'd like to offer a small it of good news. Keeping on mind that a "pledge" or a "commitment" has little legal standing, I think Bill Gates' dedication to helping Africa has been a welcome change from what we see in other wealthy individuals exploiting and raping the continent.
This will free up what limited resources we have available to help with housing and education to the region, and groups that had to assist with this work can focus more on de-escalating violence and instability in the region.
Undoubtedly he's having conversations about he's up to with other billionaires, and if that's not swaying them, his work on new nuclear technology among other per projects should.
What strikes me is that billionaires across the developed world aren't taking a similar stand with their own wealth (to my knowledge). They know they can't take it with them when they die, so what's with there only being a tiny percentage who commit to philanthropy?
We all know the fast, cynical and obvious answer to this, but even these people are human. Where's their sense of altruism?
People don't become billionaires by accident, most of the time it takes a higher level of sociopathy than baseline to get there. I think it's as simple as that.
No doubt at least some of them can grow, and maybe find a little empathy. Cheers to Gates for providing a good example there. We also shouldn't forget about Buffet (pledges to give away 99% of his wealth) and dozens of billionaire signatories to the Giving Pledge. There's a definite trend among billionaires towards giving their wealth away at some point, or at least promising to.
I think one of the best forces to push them from greed is social pressure from their billionaire peers.
It's crazy, because they're obsessed with acquiring something that's essentially useless to them. I can't even imagine anything I'd even want that costs more than a million dollars or so, but there are people with thousands upon thousands of times that.
Like, I'd still want to eat an 8 dollar burrito for lunch. They don't make 80,000 dollar burritos. I'd still want to live in a house that I could walk from one end to the other without having to make a workout out of it.
What's the point after a certain level of wealth?
Even yachts realstically max out at like 50 million. Beyond that you're just paying for it to specifically be expensive.
It would be different if you could purchase super powers with a billion dollars or something, or you got an extra ten years of life for every 100 million you have, but money doesn't do that. After a certain level it just becomes pieces of paper that are essentially worthless to you.
Why not just do anything else with your life other than focusing on aquiring even more useless pieces of paper?
Yeah I agree. I think, for some, wealth becomes a proxy for basic emotional needs like security and self worth. Not in a rational way of course, at a billion dollars you're well past the point of insulation where there is any reasonable security concern, but in a hindbrain sort of way. Winning, scorekeeping and comparison get looped in and it becomes a psychological quagmire, any individual part of which seems too trite and immature for the sufferer to feel comfortable consciously acknowledging it. Thereby making it a stubborn affliction.
A lot of non billionaires suffer from the same issues but without the wealth. Money as security is a powerful emotional force.
And then of course there's wealth as a proxy for power, and we know from history that there's no upper limit to the amount of power people will pursue.
Well you can kinda acquire super powers with billions. You might be able to go to Mars, or put someone else on Mars. Or save a species from extinction. Eradicate a disease. Humanity could just as easily do that without one person dispersing the funds. But I think they really crave the control and agency that a billion dollars give them.
I think many of them are trying to work on advanced solutions to aging (trying to be immortal, essentially) or they want to pass their significant power onto their legacy (there is this weird fetishization of continuing the 'legacy' among the uber-elites.) So they push their money and influence into lobbies or organizations that their children or antecessors they've groomed into the position to take their place. I believe this is another reason why we've got specific individuals attempting to take Mars in their own name.
Yeah, agreed. I also think that there's a lot of people with money caught on the same hedonistic consumerist treadmill as the rest of us, but their luxuries are bigger, need more resources and niche.
Hennessy and cocaine fueled orgies in Monaco? Lighting cigars made from endangered plants with flaming irreplaceable oil paintings? I bet they've got it all!
It's unclear to me if this is a change or some kind of re-announcement of what they were planning already. The Gates Foundation has been heavily involved in Africa all along. Looking at their 2023 budget, it doesn't break it down by continent, but only about 9% of it was spent on "United States program."
It's not necessarily a change, and its not really a re-announcement. I appreciate the link as it brings additional information into the conversation, so thank you for sharing that.
I agree, The Gates Foundation has done some tremendous work in the past, especially working on the AIDS and Malaria epidemics. Providing vaccination was mostly done by his group I believe. To my knowledge, they will be providing additional support onto what they had previously pledged in order to offset the withdrawal of the US Govt. resources. (I am more than happy to be corrected on that if I'm wrong, though)
He spoke at an Event/Conference to provide reassurances to African leaders, giving hope in a time of crisis.