Bill Gates has been vocal in his criticism of Elon Musk, especially about the billionaire’s participation in a government body where he charged Musk with activities endangering children.
Compared to just one hundred days ago, the political and global scene has changed significantly since Donald Trump took office on January 20.
It isn’t easy to choose the most divisive of the several executive orders and decisions from the White House, as they have drastically changed the United States and elsewhere.
To lower the government workforce and decrease expenses, Trump’s pick of billionaire associate Musk to oversee the recently established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was one noteworthy choice, nonetheless. Other well-known billionaires, like Gates, have most definitely noticed this action.
Under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the philanthropist has strongly objected to the cost-cutting measures Musk has taken, charging him of participating in activities most likely to expose the most vulnerable children on the planet in possibly harmful conditions.
Particularly about foreign aid, DOGE has caused various government organisations to be downsized. Target one was the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Musk called a “criminal organisation” in February and said it was “time for it to end.”
With a workforce of about 10,000, USAID had been the biggest worldwide humanitarian aid contributor, giving over $40 million in 2023 alone.
Musk nevertheless declared intentions to liquidate the company since he saw it as a drain on public resources.
“It became plain that it’s not an apple with a worm in it,” Musk said then. “We currently have a ball of worms. You really have to essentially throw away the whole thing.”
Gates expressed his most criticism here, calling the choice to eliminate American development projects abroad misguided.
During an interview with the Financial Times, the co-founder of Microsoft expressed his displeasure with the idea that the richest man in the world would be causing harm to the children of the world’s poorest families.
Gates underlined even more how the severe budget cuts have resulted in vital supplies—food and life-saving medications—that are sitting idle in warehouses. At the same time, countries deprived of these resources face increasing risk of diseases such measles, HIV, and polio.
He also charged Musk with stopping financing for a Gaza hospital that had been assisting in the prevention of HIV transmission from mothers to their children. Gates claims that Musk misled people by claiming, under false pretences, that the United States was giving c*ndoms to Hamas in the area, a move with disastrous results.
According to Gates, I would like for him to meet the children who have become HIV-positive as a result of those funding cuts.
These remarks fit the continuous conflict between the two billionaires. Musk signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, a pledge taken by many rich people to devote at least half of their assets to philanthropy. But during a meeting with Gates, Musk discounted the effort as “bulls***”.
Gates, 69, is on a quest to spend almost all of his fortune in the next years and wants to close the Gates Foundation by 2045. Focussing on illness eradication, mother and child health, and the HIV cure, he plans to commit $200 billion into world health, education, and development.
Gates admitted that despite these initiatives, his contributions pale in comparison to the gap the cuts to USAID create—a budget deficit of $44 billion alone last year.
Gates expressed his philosophy in a letter: “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them. Too many pressing issues call for solutions.