Say what you like about Microsoft and their products, but it seems that their founder is a genuinely good-hearted human being. I know it is (seemingly) easier to give money when you’ve got lots of it available, but I feel like Bill and his wife Melinda really go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to their philanthropy. It appears that they really want to work to get at the root of some of the societal problems that are the cause of much of the poverty in the world.
With his concept of “creative capitalism”, Gates encourages business leaders to creatively use market incentives to bring the benefits of scientific, medical, and technological advances to those who need it most: the poor. I have no idea how the business/economics of that will work, and how it will be profitable for businesses (the driving force behind capitalism, right?), but I certainly admire the sentiment.
Okay – I have yet to watch the video (and I will). But I’ve always been pretty impressed with what I know about Bill Gates (which, admittedly, is very little). We need more people like him. Seriously.
Ok, I did watch it. In one sense, he’s got part of a worthy idea. Use what you have to benefit the poorest and neediest. He did dance around _still_ being the one of the richest guys on the planet. You could ask: would he have said these things 20 years ago? 30? Nevertheless, he is saying them now. Other than his own charity (named after himself and his wife), what _specificly_ is he offering? Compare him against another man who had it all and what he did with it.
I’ve been enjoying browsing through your photos and stopping to read the blog here and there this evening in 2016! I don’t know about creative capitalism but there’s another side to Bill Gates–he advocates for population control and abortion. Makes me question his other elitist ideas. Check this out:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/the-ambitions-of-bill-and-melinda-gates-controlling-population-and-public-education
Oh, the video is no longer available so I wasn’t able to watch it.