My new deadline: 20 years to give away virtually all my wealth

678 points by nrvn 2 months ago | 656 comments
  • legitster 2 months ago
    It's interesting he decided to go this way rather than put it into a sustainable trust and just trickle money out indefinitely.

    I suspect he believes that these causes need shock therapy. To eradicate a disease, you are better off doing it all in one go.

    I also wonder if he looks at something like the Ford Foundation and realize in the long run that any charitable trust will just turn into an overstuffed political advocacy group that does little to advance his charities or even his legacy.

    • ghaff 2 months ago
      Was just talking with some folks last weekend about this in a different context. Open-ended foundations can easily have their missions drift and also become essentially sinecures for an executive director.

      Ford Foundation is a great example of what can happen. Olin is a good example of a foundation that was set up to dissolve after some length of time.

      • thedailymail 2 months ago
        Mission drift can sometimes go in a positive direction. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for example, functioned primarily as a tax evasion vehicle while Hughes was alive. After his death, the HHMI was in deep trouble with the IRS and sitting on an endowment of ~$5 billion. So it appointed former NIH director Donald Fredrickson to turn it into an actual research funding organization and mend relations with the tax authorities and research community.

        https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-11-fi-2620-s...

        • honk 2 months ago
          You may know this already, but both Olin Foundations are good examples, actually. I believe the John M. Olin foundation dissolution plans were specifically in response to the Ford foundation's drift. The F. W. Olin foundation (John's Father) coincidentally dissolved in the same year, but that was due to largely accomplishing their original goal of endowing engineering buildings at colleges, and pivoting to founding a new engineering college entirely.
          • ghaff 2 months ago
            I don't really know the details but an organization I was/am involved with did get money from the "Olin Foundation" but didn't know specifics beyond that. Yeah, one of my fellow board members observed that Olin was pretty much the canonical example of a foundation that set itself up to be dissolved.
          • ivape 2 months ago
            I've always wondered about the Gates and Buffets commitment about giving away their wealth in death. It assumes that the people of the future are more worthy of it than the people of now. Whatever poverty will exist in the future also exists now. I suspect they've thought about this too, hence the acceleration. If anything, addressing the issues now has a chance of reducing the issues in the future.

            There's always something to learn from everyone. Elon reiterated one thing frequently - "We have to get to Mars soon because I don't want to be dead before it happens" (paraphrasing). If this philosophy is used for the right purpose, we can get some cool things happening sooner. Recent events also show that there are people who are not interested in being charitable at all, so it's even more of an imperative.

            • owebmaster 2 months ago
              > It assumes that the people of the future are more worthy of it than the people of now

              I don't think that is the assumption. The assumption is that people will treat them well for planning to give away their money without them needing to live their life without their precious wealth.

              • ghaff 2 months ago
                Many things take time. And it may be good to fund them. But outsized contributions don't necessarily make them happen that much faster.
                • bdhe 2 months ago
                  > There's always something to learn from everyone. Elon reiterated one thing frequently - "We have to get to Mars soon because I don't want to be dead before it happens"

                  I understand the idea of learning from everyone, even those whose values I strongly disagree with.

                  But after learning about everything Elon has done in the public sphere, would this statement be more likely just narcissism rather than a deep and inspiring virtue?

              • gwern 2 months ago
                He can have other motivations. Between 2020, 2024, Mackenzie Bezos & Laurene Powell Jobs, the deeply unimpressive philanthropy of the Buffett children, and his own divorce, a very rich philanthropist has excellent reasons to aim for the foundation being liquidated in his lifetime, and not handed off to administrators like, yes, the Ford Foundation or Harvard...

                (And then, of course, given his enthusiasm for AI, there is a major question of whether 'keeping your powder dry' is a huge mistake - one way or the other.)

                • calepayson 2 months ago
                  I'm an AI skeptic when it comes to business cases. I think AI is great at getting to average and the whole point of a business is that you're paying them to do better than average.

                  But I think current AI (not where it might be in a few months or years) is absolutely amazing for disadvantaged people. Access to someone who's average is so freaking cool if you don't already have it. Used correctly it's a free math tutor, a free editor for any papers you write, a free advice nurse.

                  This sucks in a business setting but I could see it being incredible in a charitable setting. When businesses try to replace someone great with something average it sucks. But if you're replacing something non-existent with something average, that can be life changing.

                  I'm an AI skeptic and I can empathize with his AI enthusiasm given the problems he's trying to address (or at least professes to be trying to address).

                  • hn_throwaway_99 2 months ago
                    > But I think current AI (not where it might be in a few months or years) is absolutely amazing for disadvantaged people. Access to someone who's average is so freaking cool if you don't already have it. Used correctly it's a free math tutor, a free editor for any papers you write, a free advice nurse.

                    Interestingly, I think AI, if its biggest boosters are correct, will end up being an absolute disaster for disadvantaged people.

                    The fact is that the vast majority of people in the current world are able to survive by selling their labor. If AI makes it so that, say, 50% of the world's population is no longer able to survive by selling their labor, that leads to massive serfdom, not some sort of Star Trek utopia.

                    And the thing that is shocking to me is that I haven't seen any (like, absolutely zero) credible explanation from AI boosters of how this dystopian end state is avoidable. I've either heard misdirection (e.g. yes, I agree AI is amazing at what it can do, but that doesn't explain how people will eat if they don't have jobs), vague handwavy-ness, or "kumbaya talk" about stuff like basic income that seems to completely ignore human nature.

                    I would absolutely love to be convinced I'm wrong, but that would need to start with at least something approaching a rational argument as to how the benefits of AI will be more equally distributed, and I have yet to hear that.

                    • lazyhummingbird 2 months ago
                      I know a few of the leaders designing and developing Microsoft’s AI applications for the Gates Foundation.

                      I think you’re on the right track, and, alongside the scale of service (reaching more people and more topics with an average level of advice or recognition), there’s a second component to it: scale of analysis. The newly possible solutions that AI advances have created include more than those famous models that answer broad prompts with art, copy, or code.

                      They also include focused, sometimes incomprehensible tasks which can only be done at an impactful scale due to the creation of deep learning and advances in compute-inexpensive language understanding, computer vision, and audio analysis:

                      A network of affordable, durable, solar powered, LoRa meshed audio sensors analyzed by a model to diagnose changes in the biodiversity of the Amazon and other rainforests (via ambient bird and animal calls across thousands of species). Visual analysis done on a cheap camera network estimates herd sizes of larger, silent animals.

                      A model that analyzes satellite imagery to evaluate major shifts in the industrial use of land, including tracking the national development of solar farms to evaluate nations receiving new energy grants.

                      A social analysis bot that tracks the rapid introduction of propaganda narratives or intentional agitation by foreign state actors (Russian bot farms), including building a map of associated IPs. Sadly, the social networks basically shrugged when given this data, so Msft gave it to LEAs.

                      These things are being done at a scale that would be incomprehensible to an organization of people.

                      Scale of analysis tasks are still, IMO the smartest use of AI today, despite the fashionable trend of GPT and the promise of AGI. A few models to spark ideas:

                      Recognition tasks with a dictionary too deep for human experts to grok when scaled up - like identifying thousands of wildlife

                      Recognition tasks with a timescale too rapid or sudden for human attention - Amazon Prime Vision predicting a QB sack in a football game before it happens

                      Recognition tasks when human vigilance or sensitivity would miss an occasional or slight occurrence - measuring eccentricities in electrical signals, vibrations, etc. to predict the failure of industrial equipment

                      • bigfatkitten 2 months ago
                        > a free advice nurse.

                        It is good for the other use cases, but it is the worst possible source of advice on subjects where the user has no expertise, and where there are serious health or safety consequences for getting it wrong.

                        • Wowfunhappy 2 months ago
                          > The whole point of a business is that you're paying them to do better than average.

                          ...this is a really interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it's entirely true?

                          If we're talking about a business's core competency, I think the assertion makes sense. You need to be better than your competition.

                          But businesses also need a whole lot of people to work in human resources, file taxes, and so on. (Not to mention clean bathrooms, but that's less relevant to the generative AI discussion.) I can certainly imagine how having a world-class human resource team could provide a tire manufacturer with a competitive advantage. However, if those incredible HR employees are also more expensive, it might make more sense to hire below-average people to do your HR and invest more in tire R&D.

                      • biophysboy 2 months ago
                        His strategy also may have changed due to recent events affecting foreign aid...
                      • fallingknife 2 months ago
                        If you have more money than anyone else on earth, the highest leverage use of that money is going to be to fund projects that require more capital than anyone else can afford to fund and that governments are unwilling to fund. That way you know you are actually adding to the opportunity set and not just displacing someone else. The difficult part is, of course, deciding which of those projects that only you can fund will actually be a good bet, but that doesn't change the fundamental calculation. Not sure if that's Gates' strategy, but it would make sense if it was.
                        • conception 2 months ago
                          Actually the highest leverage would be to bribe electable politicians to get governments to be willing to fund your projects. It’s remarkably cheap apparently to do.
                          • robocat 2 months ago
                            Numbers:

                              > but I expect the [Gates] foundation will spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045
                            
                              Top 10 individuals in the world worth $1.77 trillion
                            
                              The U.S. government has spent $ 3.57 trillion in fiscal year 2025
                            
                            So Gates spends 10 billion/year which is an astonishing 0.2% of US government budget
                        • aDyslecticCrow 2 months ago
                          Economies of scale could vastly benefit a lot of charity work, but few charities can attain sufficient scale to achieve that. There is an unfortunate amount of overhead and administration in charities that do not directly benefit the cause.

                          In that sense, I suspect targeted and planned large investments into charities with scalable plans is a lot more efficient than years of trickle donations.

                          • adverbly 2 months ago
                            Who manages that trust? There is not shortage of short term needs, and short term value added can compound over time. I think this is a fine approach. He's Bill Gates - his legacy is ensured regardless.
                            • light_triad 2 months ago
                              The decision can be read in the larger political context. There was some controversy a while back on certain directions the Foundation took like the project on sanitation (aka the toilet challenge) and the backing of charter schools. Regardless of one's opinion of those, he is taking a stand and drawing a line in the sand.
                              • 2 months ago
                                • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                  Isn't the Gates Foundation effectively a trust in itself? I'm no economist, I don't know the exact definitions but the projects they do aren't overnight or one-off donations, they need long term (financial) support and guidance; vaccination development takes years, vaccination programs with the intent to eradicate diseases like polio take generations - e.g. the vaccine was developed in the 50's, it took ~70 years to mostly eradicate the virus in humans (only 30 known new cases in 3 countries in 2022).
                                  • belter 1 month ago
                                    Please...Gates has been giving interviews about giving all his money for 24 years! While every year, topping the list of the richest persons on earth.

                                    Gates moved $50 billion into a tax-exempt entity he controls, avoided all capital gains tax, secured over $11 billion in total tax benefits, and only needs to distribute 5% of the foundation’s assets annually, all while retaining effective control and reaping massive reputational returns.

                                    This is nothing more than tax optimization for billionaires and can guarantee you the private plane bills, security costs, hotel suites are invoiced to the foundation...

                                    People who believe this, also believe Warren Buffet makes money by value investing and picking stocks. Warren Buffet who by the way also used the Gates foundation for tax optimization to the tune of avoiding 20 billion in capital gains tax.

                                    If politicians wanted they could set a 95% tax on billionaires tomorrow, just like next Monday, and none of these 250 individuals would have the minor inconvenience of their lifestyle. It seems to be possible for tariffs...But those are a tax on the other 99% tax payers. It happens overnight...

                                    Such a smart guy, but not smart enough to stay away from Epstein...

                                    • jollofricepeas 2 months ago
                                      I’m not sure it matters.

                                      Many will say Bill is attempting to reshape his legacy and narrative post-Epstein.

                                      The most important thing is that money is being returned to society on an accelerated timeline.

                                      Without this redistribution of wealth from billionaires back to especially the middle and lower classes we are headed for violent revolution on a massive scale.

                                      Hopefully other billionaires redistribute during their lifetimes to address housing, education and health issues as well.

                                      • timewizard 2 months ago
                                        You could eradicate a disease by killing all the hosts. I worry that the people who want to "eradicate disease" don't actually care about long term outcomes, they just want to have their likeness cast in bronze, with a nice plaque beneath it, lauding their "oversized" achievements in life.

                                        Anyways, the type of person who can earn a lot of money in this economy, and the type of person who can best decide how to spend it altruistically, are almost certainly not the same person. The person who earned the money certainly understand this. Yet. Here we are.

                                        • blitzar 2 months ago
                                          > The person who earned the money certainly understand this

                                          Your cynicism is failing you.

                                          The psycopaths that have accumilated all the money in the world are certain that they are the type of person who can best decide everything in the world on any topic, especially when it comes to people poorer than them - which is of course everyone.

                                      • srvo 2 months ago
                                        This is the way that foundations and endowments should operate.

                                        Too many well-intentioned organizations wind up milquetoast tax-exempt hedge funds aimed primarily at self-preservation because the received wisdom is that they should focus on building endowments and keep their withdrawal rates below 4% in order to achieve immortality.

                                        I'm a big believer in research-driven philanthropy and mission-driven organizations. But i've seen the institutional desire for self-preservation supersede essential purposes at a few of them, with disastrous implications for their effectiveness.

                                        The Gates foundation probably controls ~5% of the ~$2T that charitable foundations have in endowments globally. If the majority of these organizations adopted these sorts of depletion goals, their program budgets could probably more than double.

                                        Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

                                        • heresie-dabord 2 months ago
                                          > Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

                                          Ha ha, well here's mine. First, I'm way ahead of Mr Gates: I'm already worth almost nothing.

                                          But if I had billions to give, I would be supporting Science Education, Democracy and Journalism. Scholarships for bright, motivated students.

                                          With all due respect to Mr G, I don't believe any of his objectives is possible with stable, educated, science-orientated social progress. Humanity depends on it.

                                          • carstenhag 2 months ago
                                            That could help in the long run, but you could also help people not die. Both are good causes and need funding
                                            • 11101010001100 2 months ago
                                              They fund students through grants to PIs. I suspect the amount is on the order of 100M$.
                                              • fooker 2 months ago
                                                That’s like 25 research groups for 5 years, there are about two orders of magnitude more than that.
                                              • heresie-dabord 2 months ago
                                                * s/with/without/
                                              • opo 2 months ago
                                                >Too many well-intentioned organizations wind up milquetoast tax-exempt hedge funds aimed primarily at self-preservation because the received wisdom is that they should focus on building endowments and keep their withdrawal rates below 4% in order to achieve immortality.

                                                Which charities are giving away less than 4% a year? Charitable foundations in the US are required to give away at least 5% of their endowment a year:

                                                https://www.ncfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-Five-Per...

                                                • nojvek 2 months ago
                                                  If wealth can be immortal why deplete it?

                                                  All money spent is voting for allocation of resource. Sometimes there is too much money fighting the same goods in which case it may not be a good allocation of resources. That money can sit to become more money.

                                                  • Arainach 2 months ago
                                                    At a societal level, immortal wealth is incredibly bad.

                                                    At a personal level, because wealth sitting still, having 4% pay for the overhead of maintaining the 96% and then using the pennies left doesn't accomplish much of significance.

                                                    • matheusmoreira 2 months ago
                                                      Nobody allows money to sit. People deposit the money into banks. Due to fractional reserves, that's equivalent to loaning the money out so that others can efficiently allocate it instead. That's how money becomes more money.

                                                      Charities that aren't actually spending money to do good are just banks in disguise. Banks that don't pay out interest. Why would anyone donate even one cent to banks?

                                                      • aDyslecticCrow 2 months ago
                                                        You can always wait another year. And then another. When is it time? 50 years? 100 years? "We will maximise good by donating it all in 1000 years" is questionably not a charity at all; it's just a massive pile of money that isn't used for anyone but paying the people sitting on it.

                                                        Even if you trick-feed donations to charity over 100 years, the sums may be insufficient to reach a usable scale. - A big investment in research. - A concentrated push to vaccinate against a Disease so it goes away for good. - An infrastructure investment that lifts a community out of poverty.

                                                        These themselves produce "good over time," perhaps even faster than the money in the fund rises in value. It's a balance, but immortal trickle donations are likely quite far off to one direction of that scale.

                                                    • jarbus 2 months ago
                                                      Say what you want, but I respect this a lot. Sure as hell beats giving it all to your kids.
                                                      • RataNova 2 months ago
                                                        You don't have to love Gates or everything the foundation does to recognize that putting billions toward global health and poverty is way better than setting up a dynasty or letting it sit in investments
                                                        • freeamz 2 months ago
                                                          Foundation is a way to set a dynasty! Just look at all the robber baron foundations out there.
                                                          • RataNova 1 month ago
                                                            Some foundations have been used that way, no doubt. But I think there's a difference between setting up a tax shelter with vague goals and actively committing to spend down the entire endowment in a specific timeframe
                                                          • lostmsu 2 months ago
                                                            > letting it sit in investments

                                                            Depends on investments. Arguably tech advances are more effective for alleviating hunger than direct food donations long term.

                                                            • barbazoo 2 months ago
                                                              When though? When is it enough to be used for something good?
                                                              • RataNova 1 month ago
                                                                I think the ideal is a mix: fund near-term needs like healthcare and food access and invest in the systems and tools that prevent future crises
                                                                • Breza 2 months ago
                                                                  What companies would you invest in if you had a billion dollars and wanted to reduce global hunger?
                                                                • blitzar 2 months ago
                                                                  > letting it sit in investments

                                                                  I havent looked, and frankly can't be bothered [0], but I expect that even after giving away an unfathomable amount of money, the foundation and gates are probably richer (dollar net worth) than they have ever been.

                                                                  It has been sat in investments, they have been giving it away, but they can't keep up with it.

                                                                  [0] Turns out I could be - https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/william-h-ga...

                                                                • throwaway5752 2 months ago
                                                                  Exactly. Look at the Walton and other families hoarding wealth by abusing tax law and lobbying to make it even worse, and the armies of advisors and attorneys parasitically helping them.

                                                                  Gates is thousands of times better than most. He and Melinda have done more good for the world than all but a few handfuls of individuals. I've heard estimates his original MSFT stake would be worth over a trillion dollars now.

                                                                  • js8 2 months ago
                                                                    Among billionaires maybe he is on the good side. But in general?

                                                                    Linus Torvalds did more for the world than Bill Gates, IMHO. And he didn't need to set up a system that first appropriates money in order to "be generous" later.

                                                                    • stewx 2 months ago
                                                                      What diseases has Torvalds eradicated?
                                                                  • danvoell 2 months ago
                                                                    And/or when you die. We need more people trying to make the world better while they are here instead of treating the finish line like the, well, finish line.
                                                                    • ivape 2 months ago
                                                                      I mean, the lifestyle of rich babies doesn't even require that much money. He can easily provide them the money to travel to a random city and buy a luxury condo and set up a food-truck business. A couple of million is enough to one day decide to pack it up and buy a farm.
                                                                      • oulipo 2 months ago
                                                                        Sure, but only capitalism concentrates so much wealth in such few hands

                                                                        An alternative would be that company like Microsoft couldn't gain so much wealth, simply because their revenue would be capped / taxed high enough that the extra money they make goes back directly to people and governments

                                                                        In this case, *everyone* gets to vote and choose for what philanthropies the amount gets used, rather than having just "one guy" deciding for himself how to spend all this money, which is prone to errors

                                                                        • celeritascelery 2 months ago
                                                                          The government spends about 10x the amount of money on foreign aid than the gates foundations entire budget ever year. Not to mention the hundreds billions spent on domestic aid every year. So your dream is already a reality.
                                                                        • brainzap 2 months ago
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                                                                          • hiuyty 2 months ago
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                                                                            • TheAmazingRace 2 months ago
                                                                              Or, why not do both? If you are worth billions, you can give millions to your kids and give the rest to charities of your choice. Everyone wins.

                                                                              This attitude of "I'd rather burn everything" feels like such a massive waste of an opportunity to leave a quality legacy behind and legitimately make the world a better place.

                                                                              • ragnot 2 months ago
                                                                                Raising kids to not be spoiled even with moderate amounts of wealth is hard as is...imagine being one of the richest men in the world
                                                                                • akpa1 2 months ago
                                                                                  There's a pretty clear line between "this inheritance is enough to make you comfortable and sort you out for life" and "this inheritance will make you rich beyond your own comprehension" - there's a certain amount of money that nobody has a need for.
                                                                                  • titzer 2 months ago
                                                                                    Don't take a dime then either. Good luck generating your own power, homeschooling your kids, and building your own roads.
                                                                                  • babelfish 2 months ago
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                                                                                    • therein 2 months ago
                                                                                      So you are saying his life is miserable because he will never know the joy of giving to Bill Gates because he is giving to his children. I think you're living that life.
                                                                                • wing-_-nuts 2 months ago
                                                                                  His foundation really does seem to do a good job with 'effective altruism'. There's a reason they're marked as secondary beneficiaries on all my accounts.

                                                                                  Also, as a recommendation, you guys should look into whether your employer matches charitable donations to 501Cs in any amount. I find giving a solid chunk of my discretionary budget to charity every year lends a sense of purpose to a job that wouldn't otherwise have much (at least, in the sense of helping others).

                                                                                  I enjoy being a dev, and I've given serious thought to simply continuing working once I reach my FIRE number and donating half of what I earn to charity. I think most charities would have more use for my money than my time, given my disability

                                                                                  • zozbot234 2 months ago
                                                                                    > There's a reason they're marked as secondary beneficiaries on all my accounts.

                                                                                    Strictly speaking, the foundation discourages individuals from donating directly to them, mostly because the tax treatment of giving that way isn't necessarily favorable. They've set up Gates Philanthropy Partners as a 501(c)(3) charity which is aligned to the same philanthropic goals.

                                                                                    (Of course there's also many other worthwhile players in the broader EA space.)

                                                                                    • nostromo 2 months ago
                                                                                      I worked there and would encourage you not to do that.

                                                                                      It'd be smarter to see who they are giving money to (which is all public) and give directly to those orgs. The Gates foundation itself spends a lot of money on consultants, "government engagement" (aka lobbying by another name), and fancy dinners.

                                                                                      That's fine or maybe even noble for a family foundation, but it's probably not something individuals would want to fund.

                                                                                      • frereubu 2 months ago
                                                                                        Anecdata, but the brother of a friend was working on malaria in a SE Asian country and the Gates Foundation got interested in what they were doing, and wanted to find out more about it before possibly funding some of their work. They flew the entire team to the US, put them up in expensive hotels for a few days and flew them all back. They calculated that the cost of that was three times their annual budget. It would have made more sense to me to either (a) fly someone from the Gates Foundation to the country so they could see things first hand or (b) conduct the investigation / interviews via the internet. Given that the Foundation's people weren't in-country anyway, (b) seems like the best option all round given the environmental costs of flying.
                                                                                        • michaelt 2 months ago
                                                                                          > They flew the entire team to the US, put them up in expensive hotels for a few days and flew them all back. They calculated that the cost of that was three times their annual budget.

                                                                                          Are you sure about that?

                                                                                          Let's say every employee gets a $1000 round trip flight, plus $2000 for 4 nights in a decent hotel, a total of $3000 per head. Are you telling me that employee is paid $1000 a year or less?

                                                                                        • qingcharles 2 months ago
                                                                                          Lobbying is ugly, but essential in the system we live in. You have to be pragmatic about it :(
                                                                                          • delusional 2 months ago
                                                                                            That depends on what you are lobbying for. I don't think we have to treat all lobbying the same.
                                                                                          • Blankono 2 months ago
                                                                                            So you appreachiate that the Bill Gates Foundation takes the time and energy / Resources to figure out whom to give money for the best impact, but you don't suggest others to give an organization, which actually takes the time and effort to figoure out how to spend money properly?

                                                                                            I find this dishonest.

                                                                                            And i find your point regarding 'fancy dinners' weird. You do know why they might spend money on this right? For doing lobbying which leads to real impact. Your 'fancy dinner' might be the difference between a political decision in favour for the right thing vs. some other company lobbying for the opposition.

                                                                                            • reaperducer 2 months ago
                                                                                              Exactly. He doesn't need 20 years. That's just him trying to draw attention to himself.

                                                                                              If he was really serious about giving away his money, he could write a single check to the Red Cross || Doctors Without Borders || insert charity here and in five minutes be done with it.

                                                                                              The world doesn't need more vanity charities. It needs its existing charities to be better funded.

                                                                                              • jncfhnb 2 months ago
                                                                                                The Red Cross is not equipped to make effective use of all that money at once
                                                                                                • kurthr 2 months ago
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                                                                                                  • Blankono 2 months ago
                                                                                                    I don't think you understand really how thngs work if you believe, giving something like the Red Cross Billions would just work.

                                                                                                    Just googling it delivers enough critisism on worst level than you think Bill Gates Foundation is: "misusing funds, poor logistical planning, inadequate responses to specific crises, and even allegations of fraud and theft. "

                                                                                                    Impact matters. Impact doesn't mean to just give money to some organization. Bill Gates actually played a significant role in Ebola vacination. Why? Because he/his team revisted why just giving out vacines was not enough.

                                                                                                    Impact means helping as efficient as possible with the money.

                                                                                                    And btw. a lot of other charities of this style (especially christians ones we all know) have also borderline ways of missusing believers to do their work. My aunt worked for nuns and got paid shit. This is now a problem for her retirment. Guess who pays that? Yeah the state...

                                                                                                    • SteveNuts 2 months ago
                                                                                                      That much wealth could probably fund every food bank in the country indefinitely, even at extremely conservative returns.
                                                                                                  • Ozzie_osman 2 months ago
                                                                                                    For you (or other folks) working in tech and giving to charity, apart from corporate match, another couple pieces of advice are to consider a Donor Advised Fund. They are really easy to set up, and then you get some benefits, like the ability to "bunch" your donations (can help with tax deductions) or donate appreciated investments (like RSUs) without paying capital gains tax.
                                                                                                    • Zaheer 2 months ago
                                                                                                      https://charityvest.org/ is a great modern DAF tool. I use it to get 1 single charity receipt at the end of the year and track my giving.
                                                                                                      • newfocogi 2 months ago
                                                                                                        Another happy CharityVest user here. I recommend it to everyone I talk to when DAFs are remotely relevant to the conversation.
                                                                                                      • MattSayar 2 months ago
                                                                                                        Money managing tools like Betterment also have native UI features to donate investments to charities as well
                                                                                                        • nonce42 2 months ago
                                                                                                          Agree on the Donor Advised Fund (I use Fidelity). If you have highly-appreciated stock, you definitely should look into a DAF. Another benefit is that it is extremely easy to donate to a charity; click and submit and you don't have to worry about paperwork and putting each donation down on your taxes.
                                                                                                          • wing-_-nuts 2 months ago
                                                                                                            Yep, I've considered a DAF and donating stock, but it wouldn't be eligible for my employer match.
                                                                                                            • dmoy 2 months ago
                                                                                                              Depends on the employer I guess. Some companies will do match even for DAF distributions (not the initial transfer obviously)
                                                                                                            • 9rx 2 months ago
                                                                                                              > without paying capital gains tax.

                                                                                                              It's a funny day when you're feeling charitable, but go out of your way to avoid helping the entity that should be the ideal charitable recipient.

                                                                                                              • toast0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                The state goes out of their way to encourage it.

                                                                                                                Let's say you just won the startup lottery and you've got a significant amount of now tradable stock. Some of which was early exercised and the cost basis is effectively zero. Some of which was RSUs or non-qualified options and you owe ordinary income. And that you're way over into the top tax brackets.

                                                                                                                If your zero cost basis stock is Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), there's a very nice discount on federal capital gains, so you might not need to do the rest of the stuff.

                                                                                                                Otherwise, if you donate your apprechiated zero basis stock, you get to save federal capital gains of 20% + 3.8% net investment income. Plus it offsets against your ordinary income that's 37%. So that's a 60.8% discount on being charitable for the feds. If you live in California, capital gains are regular income, so you're saving 13.3% because the capital gains go away and offsetting 13.3% on your ordinary income, so your total discount is 87.4%. In other words, your difference in cash after taxes for selling $1M of zero basis stock or donating $1M of zero basis stock is $126k.

                                                                                                                When the government is telling you it only costs $126k to give a charity $1M, it's pretty compelling. The math used to be different, when you'd get credit for state taxes on the federal return, but that was many years ago now.

                                                                                                                • wing-_-nuts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                  If that entity used my tax dollars wisely (looking at nordic countries), yes I agree paying taxes is superior. I have no interest in contributing more towards our 1T/yr defense budget or subsidizing oil and gas.
                                                                                                                  • didgetmaster 2 months ago
                                                                                                                    Perhaps the government 'should' be the ideal charitable entity; but it most definitely is not.

                                                                                                                    The waste, fraud, and abuse that runs rampant throughout the government tells us that the powerful often use taxpayer dollars as their own slush fund.

                                                                                                                    Sure the government does much to relieve the suffering of people around the globe; but it could do far more with substantially less.

                                                                                                                    • Ozzie_osman 2 months ago
                                                                                                                      So, there is a limit to these deductions, meaning, the government is still usually getting the lion's share of most people's taxes (and, generally, I think 50% of your income is the max you can deduct).

                                                                                                                      I think there is value to letting people allocate some percentage of their income directly to causes they are passionate about. Even if you assume the government is efficient and not bloated, and benevolent, this lets people contribute to causes without waiting for political consensus, or to smaller causes that would not be on the government's radar (yet) or ever. It's more pluralistic. It lets smaller causes bloom. It keeps me civically engaged.

                                                                                                                      On a personal note, I do take issue with the amounts spent on "defense" (which is often bombing people or threatening to directly or indirectly), and would rather help folks than bomb other folks.

                                                                                                                      • knowitnone 2 months ago
                                                                                                                        It's OK to do both and who is this ideal charitable recipient you are talking about? You mean the one that takes your money and does whatever it wants with it?
                                                                                                                        • monooso 2 months ago
                                                                                                                          That assumes a lot about the current administration.
                                                                                                                          • vasco 2 months ago
                                                                                                                            The state is never going to be as agile as private people engaging on topics they are passionate about on their private time.
                                                                                                                            • njdas 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                          • hermitcrab 2 months ago
                                                                                                                            >I enjoy being a dev ... I think most charities would have more use for my money than my time, given my disability

                                                                                                                            You could be massively wrong about that. Many charities are desparate for IT help. I am a developer and volunteer at a charity. I have done some IT stuff for them (mostly setting up some Airtable databases) and it has been (modesty aside) transformative for them.

                                                                                                                            • giantg2 2 months ago
                                                                                                                              It seems his foundation already has significant funding. I would give to other charities, focusing on high impact work in specific regions or domains that knight not be as popular.
                                                                                                                              • lvass 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                >His foundation really does seem to do a good job with 'effective altruism'

                                                                                                                                Can you provide some sources for this? I'm by no means an expert in this area, but my city happened to receive some of his modified A. Aegypti since 2017 and it didn't make the people here happy, at all. Though I don't even think there's a comprehensive study on how much good or harm came from it.

                                                                                                                                • hiuyty 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                    • altruios 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                      What a completely unhelpful comment: for all you know they are infertile. Having children shouldn't be done for such selfish reasons as mere personal fulfillment. I care about the kind of life a hypothetical human offspring would have (which is why I choose not to have any currently). Creating a family is a really weird solution to bring up.

                                                                                                                                      But your rage is valid, I think it is just misplaced. The above commenter to you could perhaps be more effective in their decision making regarding filling their existential void. But family planning is a rash and presumptuous 'solution' to filling that need.

                                                                                                                                  • _bin_ 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                    • mlyle 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                      > I am within mine to remind everyone to please help your friend, your neighbor, your town, state, and country before you look further afield.

                                                                                                                                      Nah. We have memberships in families, neighborhoods, friend groups, local areas, cultural groups, nations, and the whole world. And problems at any of these levels can grow to the point where they affect us, too. And places where the needs are most acute and broad stand the greatest chances of developing to not be as acute of problems anymore and indeed to offer value to the overall world community through trade.

                                                                                                                                      Indeed, the extreme version of what you're saying is why so many only give to their church communities which are insular and isolated. Or to just retain everything.

                                                                                                                                      70% of my giving is domestic, but I think it's nuts to ignore the rest of the world. Yes, things improved in distant lands maybe are harder for me to see and have less of a direct impact on those around me; so discount their benefit some, but that marginal benefit is so much larger...

                                                                                                                                      • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                        You have to weigh that against the fact that you are much more able to figure out how to actually do what's needed at levels where you see things firsthand. At least, that's been my experience; it's much more realistic to start a nonprofit that can make a real difference locally, then perhaps scale with time, than it is to found something with a global mission, lacking global context on how things manifest around the world.

                                                                                                                                        More importantly, I'm not a utilitarian, and do not subscribe to "effective altruism" or other utilitarian philosophies. At the end of the day it's Gates' money to do with as he wishes and it's my internet account to argue against that as I wish.

                                                                                                                                      • derektank 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                        As someone who grew up in a Christian faith tradition that said Jesus Christ died for the sins of all of us and that we are all made in God's image, I find this position so bizarre. If we are all children of God, why should I prioritize the well being of a single stranger in Ohio over twenty strangers in Kenya? I can understand an argument for prioritizing one's family, especially if you are a parent, or even one's immediate community, but while I personally love America, the vast majority of Americans are as distant from me as anyone else in the globe.
                                                                                                                                        • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                          This is a pretty common question that's raised: how can we square this with loving our fellow man?

                                                                                                                                          The short answer is Christianity isn't a utilitarian belief system. While God loves everyone equally, he puts some of us closer together in love: family, friends, neighbors, countrymen. This incurs a greater obligation, plus we ought to love more those who are closer to us.

                                                                                                                                          Sadly, a lot of Christian faiths teach dogma before the underlying reasoning or take a Bible-only approach which I find to be incredibly incomplete. In case your upbringing didn't include much theological reading, I would strongly recommend Civitas Dei and Summa Theologiae; the latter is less explicitly relevant to its definition but probably a better book overall.

                                                                                                                                        • olivermuty 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                          A dollar will help someone abroad much more than the same dollar will in the US though.
                                                                                                                                          • blargey 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                            A single cent? I think you vastly underestimate how little a dollar does in the US, and how much it does outside.

                                                                                                                                            Moreover, insisting on going all-in on medical research before doing any immediate lifesaving sounds to me like a gross perversion of what should be, in its most simple case, an urging to make sure your kids are clothed and fed before donating to the food bank. Surely ordo does not make it unvirtuous to save a drowning foreigner even if your kids would miss a meal for it.

                                                                                                                                            I’m under the impression that Aquinas says outright that it makes sense to make exceptions to the general ordering to aid those in grave need that are “low” in the order, and stuff like mosquito nets are a prototypical example of this imo. Lives saved, families preserved, terribly unjust suffering averted, etc for literal pennies on the dollar.

                                                                                                                                            • closewith 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                              I don't think any individual should have the power to unilaterally choose where to deploy billions of dollars, but your vision is equally myopic. Nothing about being a US citizen gives you any moral priority over any other person.
                                                                                                                                              • otikik 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                > help your friend, your neighbor, your town, state, and country before you look further afield

                                                                                                                                                Many of my friends and family don't live on my neighborhood, town, state or country. They live in the world. Consider broadening up your social circle a little bit. Our lives don't have to be limited to where a horse can travel to any more.

                                                                                                                                                • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                  Sure, the world has changed. But rightly-ordered love isn't about geographical layout, it's about the natural order of community and social structure. That has changed but "mosquito nets in zimbabwe" being on the way outer end of a right ordering of love hasn't.
                                                                                                                                                • niam 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                  > I am an ordo amoris enjoyer

                                                                                                                                                  You seem to think this phrase implies a prescription that people ought to donate first to their adjacents (unambiguously enough to be worth including without a definition).

                                                                                                                                                  I'll note that, given how many sources seem to contravene that interpretation, the probability that your use of this term did not come downstream from Vice President Vance has dropped precipitously. Which might be useful information for anyone looking to diversify their information diet.

                                                                                                                                                  • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                    Not physical adjacents, no. If your brother lives two thousand miles away you should still focus on him more than your neighbor.

                                                                                                                                                    I'm unsure what Vance has to do with this. My belief comes from my religious upbringing and (in this case) Saints Augustine and Aquinas. Vance is not a spiritual leader or theologian of any sort.

                                                                                                                                                    I think I absorbed much of this when I was pretty young - I had sort of settled on this way of thinking before ever picking up Civitas Dei - but reading and writing on it during my schooling helped me understand why.

                                                                                                                                                  • knowitnone 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                    It's his money. He can give it to North Korea or China if he wants. Entitled and selfish.
                                                                                                                                                    • fallingknife 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                      Actually, no he can't. OFAC will absolutely destroy him if he does. I have a remote job and I am even explicitly banned from doing any work for my company while I am in China or a bunch of other countries.
                                                                                                                                                      • actionfromafar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                        Giving it to North Korea used to be associated with risks, but things are changing fast these days.
                                                                                                                                                      • kubb 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                        Oh it's you again, you're the guy echoing specific contemporary political figures, and dressing up American isolationism in rhetoric. In the other thread you were claiming that America subsidises Europe's healthcare by paying for its defence.
                                                                                                                                                        • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                          Funny how when I specifically share opinions that you specifically dislike, you sling mud about "echoing". Of course, everyone else's opinions are well-founded and of their own mind. Mine, on the other hand, are downloaded straight into my head from a daily Fox News broadcast. You can tell by how my opinions aren't your opinions, and therefore must be those of some Bad Guy or not Real Opinions.

                                                                                                                                                          Get a life dawg.

                                                                                                                                                        • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                          • mmooss 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                            Why should some arbitrary border be drawn? And if we don't take care of the world, who will? I think that's an abdication of the most serious responsibilities.
                                                                                                                                                            • JB_Dev 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                              I actually have the opposite position on this. 1st world countries already have the funds and economy to pursue exactly what you describe. Just they lack the political will. I don’t care to subsidise that intentional lack of investment.

                                                                                                                                                              I would much rather give to charities focusing on countries that don’t have the economy/ability to fix their basic issues.

                                                                                                                                                              • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                • willvarfar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                  If you were to live very close to the border of, say, Canada or Mexico, would you support giving financial support to alleviate suffering in those countries?
                                                                                                                                                                  • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                    That depends. Generally nation is a big part of how one defines rightly-ordered love. But if, say, I lived near the border, regularly went down to Mexico, had friends or colleagues there, then probably so. but more focused on alleviating their suffering than that of the country or state.
                                                                                                                                                                    • criddell 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                      I think he wants Gates to focus his philanthropy on the Seattle region before expanding the scope of his giving to all of Washington. That could probably consume Gates' entire fortune, so the question of what to do next is irrelevant.
                                                                                                                                                                    • Blankono 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                      Sooo you use a christian word to describe your strategy?

                                                                                                                                                                      Fine but do you know what it actually means to be poor? Its not the american neighbour who has a house, heat, electricity and food who can't afford a holiday.

                                                                                                                                                                      Its the human beings living day by day trying to feed themselves.

                                                                                                                                                                      Or are you from a super crazy poor country? Might be, but you have clearly internet (which means, access to knowledge, and richnes in comparision to the kid dying of hunger somewere else)

                                                                                                                                                                      And now lets really talk about your "Ordo Amoris": If you do live in the USA, do you actually understand HOW MUCH everyone of us destroys countries around the globe? Climate Change? Resource Import? Cheap Labor?

                                                                                                                                                                      We are all rich because WE exploit every other country around us in way or the other. The least thing we can do, is helping. And theglobal agreement to actually help is just a drop on a hot stone. Even that gets critizied.

                                                                                                                                                                      Do you just use this ordo amoris because you are a christian? If so, i don't think you will go to heaven with your live philosophy.

                                                                                                                                                                      • packetlost 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                        You clearly have never actually looked at effective altruism and what it tries to be. You would otherwise know that your values are diametrically opposed to the values of that movement and said values are neither right nor wrong, they're personal.
                                                                                                                                                                        • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                          Of course I have. I am well aware that my values are diametrically opposed to it at a first-principles level; I find utilitarianism to be an incredibly hollow worldview that fails on many grounds, not least of which are the teleological (disordered love is no virtue.)

                                                                                                                                                                          I don't have to argue from the first principles of the EA crowd. Everyone believes in something and I believe they are wrong; your epistemic relativism makes no sense to me. Borderline absurdist.

                                                                                                                                                                        • justsocrateasin 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                          did you even read the article? He talks about how he has/will continue to invest significant resources into alzheimers research.
                                                                                                                                                                          • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                            Sure I did. I'm aware his giving isn't just mosquito nets. That doesn't mean I believe the money is being directed correctly.

                                                                                                                                                                            If your position is "it's his money so none of us should comment", I'd expect equal pushback on people saying "wow I really agree with how he's spending it."

                                                                                                                                                                          • energy123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                            This is just cruel nativism, a rejection of humanity except for the in group you happened to be born in. I hope everyone rejects this sociopathic outlook on the world.

                                                                                                                                                                            And Gates is investing in Alzheimer's research FYI.

                                                                                                                                                                            • _bin_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                              Reducing rightly-ordered love to "cruel nativism" is an incredibly uncharitable representation. I'd urge you to do some reading in comparative religion. Although I'm a Christian, I've found it instructive to spend some time going through other religions' texts, other philosophies, because dismissing them as backward or wrong does nobody any good. Learning more makes my conversations more productive and helps me better understand my own beliefs.
                                                                                                                                                                          • therein 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                            > There's a reason they're marked as secondary beneficiaries on all my accounts.

                                                                                                                                                                            That's just insane. Bill Gates is absolutely not a good guy but you cannot be convinced to that given how much you idealize him. Have children. I would have replied to the sibling comment saying the same but comments become unreplyable once they get enough downvotes.

                                                                                                                                                                            • yodsanklai 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                              My issue with Gates is that he wants to fight climate change, yet he's personally an environmental disaster with his yachts and jets. I'm not saying he has to live like a monk to be credible, and maybe his foundation is doing a good job (never looked into it), but either he's an hypocrite, or I disagree with him on how to fight climate change.
                                                                                                                                                                              • abound 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                I think it's pretty clearly hypocritical, but also if his actions are (far) more than offsetting his own emissions and impact, it's still a net positive.

                                                                                                                                                                                Of course, he could choose to not live a super-high consumption lifestyle in addition to his climate philanthopy, but if I had to take one or the other, I'd rather him continue throwing money at climate work than take fewer private jet rides.

                                                                                                                                                                                • xienze 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                  But... he could easily do both. This is why I have such a hard time taking anything said about climate change seriously from the likes of Gore, Gates, and celebrities. They don’t practice what they preach.

                                                                                                                                                                                  And it’s not like we’re talking about some huge sacrifices here. Go from a 50K sqft house to a “modest” 10k sqft one. Don’t sail around on personal yachts. Fly commercial. Use Zoom. Simple stuff that would give them a lot more credibility. As it is, it’s a whole lot of “do as I say, not as I do.”

                                                                                                                                                                                  • im3w1l 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                    I think it matters how it's done. If someone has super high consumption but also invests in clean energy to save the climate that's cool by be. If someone has super high consumption but also invests money into lobbying to deny the lower classes access to consumption as a means of saving the climate I would resent that person.
                                                                                                                                                                                    • yupitsme123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                      How do we measure if something is a net positive or negative when we're talking about global-level decisions?

                                                                                                                                                                                      This has always been the sticking point for me when it comes to supporting large charities.

                                                                                                                                                                                      • eastbound 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                        My issue is, he wants to fight climate change… then tries to spend $200bn in less than 20 years. This afflux of money creates a spike of consumerism, then a sudden dip after that. Consultants in foundations will scramble to spend that money for sure, and they themselves will buy private jets for that.

                                                                                                                                                                                        The way to fight climate change is to keep people at a low level of consumption, and spend his own money very slowly, very scarcely. And keep people with small cars, no Cadillac for any consultant.

                                                                                                                                                                                      • carlhjerpe 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                        While it might be hypocritical it doesn't matter whatsoever what he does with his personal life if his foundation is pouring billions into making the world a better place.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Helping people out of poverty is really bad for the environment too but I don't think we should be complaining when someone does that.

                                                                                                                                                                                        On a global scale his yacht(s?) and private jets are nothing, and if it helps him do good by establishing/maintaining relationships with the right people they're an "investment" into a stopping climate change.

                                                                                                                                                                                        A bit of a naive take as opposed to yours.

                                                                                                                                                                                        • yupitsme123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                          I'll ask the same question I've asked elsewhere because "I want to believe:" How do you measure how much someone has made the world a better place? Especially when so much of their actions, their consequences, and their second and third order effects are either unknowable or papered over by PR campaigns.
                                                                                                                                                                                        • comboy 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                          If his net effect on the climate is positive then you are only arguing that he could be even more efficient at it - but you are not in position to do that without knowing all his personal context. Outside you can only judge the net result - which is not a bad one.
                                                                                                                                                                                          • BeetleB 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                            Being a hypocrite is a fairly minor sin, and doesn't take away from the good he does. I could make a long list of worse qualities Bill Gates possesses, but I'll still acknowledge the good.
                                                                                                                                                                                            • PoignardAzur 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                              Serious question: how bad is the footprint of Gate's yachts and jets and similar luxury stuff? I genuinely have no idea.

                                                                                                                                                                                              I mean, having more than one of either already seems ridiculously wasteful to me, and I don't care if that's standard billionaire lifestyle.

                                                                                                                                                                                              • faku812 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                It's all about virtue signaling. All he cares about is if people someday decide to "eat the rich" he won't be the first one on the menu.
                                                                                                                                                                                                • calepayson 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                  This is a silly way to interpret someone donating over $100B to charity.
                                                                                                                                                                                              • yupitsme123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                The thing that's always made me skeptical of Gates and any other enormous foundations is that they operate at such a high level and with such enormous budgets that they basically exist in the same "amoral" world of nation states and corporations, but yet they face none of the scrutiny or criticism that those entities face.

                                                                                                                                                                                                How do you judge the actions of someone when those actions are powerful enough to move markets, take down regimes, and change people's lives for generations?

                                                                                                                                                                                                We take them at their word and assume that everything they do is well-intentioned and good and has zero negative impact or secondary effects, but is that really the case?

                                                                                                                                                                                                To me it seems like the only charity that can be trusted is a small-scale one that acts locally and with lots of transparency.

                                                                                                                                                                                                • david-gpu 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Why would they have to be perfect to deserve donations? A "small-scale charity that acts locally with lots of transparency" may be great, or it may be terribly inefficient in their real-world ability to improve the well-being of the people they are supposed to benefit. And either choice would be better than not donating anything to anybody.
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • yupitsme123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                    May be great or may be terrible applies to both the small and the the nation-state sized charity right?

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Maybe my judgement or efficiency is bad when I try to help my neighbor. Okay, whoopsie. Now apply that margin of error to a foundation whose decisions impact millions of people and possibly entire societies, possibly for generations. The unintended or possibly negative effects can be enormous and long-lasting.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • cyberax 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Small-scale local charities are fine, but they are by definition _local_.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    And even the poorest parts of the US are doing much better than a lot of poor countries in Africa and Asia.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    • yupitsme123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Yes they're local, but its not like there's a limit to how many local charities there can be in the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Operating at a huge scale requires you to lump people together into groups and make assumptions about who they are and what they deserve, as you've done in your example. To me that sounds antithetical to the concept of charity. And even with the best intentions, if you mess up, you're messing up a huge scale.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • prvc 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Have to disagree about the 'effective' part. Gates seems to have had a knack for massive inefficiencies and negative externalities in every way that he has impacted the world. Think of how many man-hours (measured in human lifetimes) have been wasted due to the shortcomings of various MicroSoft programs. Weigh that against his health initiatives in the third world. Or the impact of dimming the sun by depositing massive quantities of particles in the atmosphere: the resources consumed and carbon emissions that placing them would entail, and of course the intended effect, which is to impede human progress as measured by the Kardashev scale. Everything starts to look much more efficient if this is taken as the goal, though.
                                                                                                                                                                                                    • mgraczyk 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Helping to cure polio doesn't outweigh imagined future harms by George engineering that didn't happen yet?
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • ok123456 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                        He's not curing polio, though. His polio program is spreading it because they use a live virus, and a low percentage of the population is getting it. People are now getting paralytic polio from others who got the vaccine.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        This is just one example of the Kreuger-Dunning that permeates all aspects of the Gates Foundation. His interventions have been mainly disasters, distorted public policy, and gobbled up biotech IP in the process. He controls the money spicket and is very petty and cocksure about what is "right." Researchers and public policy experts who disagree with his ideas get cut off.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Governments should set public health policy and manage the needs of their people, not billionaires, biotech companies, or NGOs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      • adwf 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                        Forgive me if I find it somewhat difficult to take seriously an argument by a person judging progress on the Kardashev scale...

                                                                                                                                                                                                        You could pick some slightly less sci-fi measures like "number of trivially preventable deaths from diseases for which we have vaccines", for example.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    • modo_mario 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Last time he pledged to give away half his wealth over x years didn't it basically tripple during that period?
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • DavidSJ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                        MSFT is up 18x during that time and the S&P 500 is up 5x during that time. His investments are some mixture of MSFT and other things, so we might say he would have been up around 10x if he'd given no money away.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Since his net worth is only up 3x, that means he gave away about 70% of his wealth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        • willvarfar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                          He won't have given away 70% of his wealth. If he gave away a dollar at the beginning that is 10 dollars that dollar didn't turn into etc.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          • monooso 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                            AFAIK he didn't give it all away in one lump sum at the start.
                                                                                                                                                                                                            • DavidSJ 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                              First giving away X% and then getting a Y% return on investment has exactly the same effect on his wealth as first getting a Y% return and then giving away X%.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              So to determine X, we can just ask how much money he’d have now had he not given any away, and it looks like he has about 70% less than that.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            • modo_mario 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                              He said he would do it over 5 years. MSFT was up roughly 2x not 18x
                                                                                                                                                                                                              • DavidSJ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                However long he took, he has ~70% less wealth than he would have had if he didn't do it. If it took him longer, that only means he gave the wealth after it had more time to appreciate.
                                                                                                                                                                                                            • gtirloni 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                              The end goal isn't for him to be poor-ish but to do something supposedly useful with the money he has today.
                                                                                                                                                                                                              • melling 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Maybe it’ll triple again and he’ll throw in a cure for cancer(s) or Alzheimer’s.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                • bravoetch 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He does mention existing support for programs related to Alzheimer's research in the article.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It's part of the strategy. He endowed a giant philanthropic org. You can leverage an endowment by investing it aggressively and spending the proceeds to keep the fund running indefinitely. What he is now announcing is a pivot to start spending principal so the endowment starts to shrink until it hits zero.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • legitster 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Same thing happened to Buffet.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • bee_rider 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      It seems weird to write this, but:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      In the billionaire’s defense, he probably didn’t plan on us as a society deciding to shoveling money at his class as quickly as we possibly could.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • jjj123 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        You really think his team didn’t plan on or even help lobby for that?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • jsbg 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Did it triple because the assets he owns tripled in value?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • modo_mario 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          In which case he didn't actually charitably give away any of those assets I'd assume?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • CIPHERSTONE 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I don't see his post as an attempt to self-promote as some commenters here have made. To what purpose? He's already known to most adults, already rich beyond anyone could possibly dream to be. And it sounds like from the post that he already had this path planned albeit several decades after his death.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I think accelerating that timeline is a good thing as I think he will be better than anyone who came after to direct how the funds as applied.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • dennis_jeeves2 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          >I don't see his post as an attempt to self-promote

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Appears to be more along lines of approval from others, which is a type of self-promotion if you will. IMHO a true do-gooder would go about his philanthropy/help/charity with zero publicity and would actively shun any.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • gantron 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > To what purpose?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Steel-manning: Gates has run a deliberate PR campaign for decades to rehabilitate his reputation. In the 80s & 90s (before the Gates Foundation) he was known as a ruthless corporate tactician who crushed competitors like ants and earned a federal antitrust suit against Microsoft. Prior to his divorce he had a widely-publicized affair with a subordinate. He befriended Jeffrey Epstein and appeared in his flight logs after Epstein had already been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. (Gates has worked very hard to distance himself from Epstein since then - another example of the PR machine at work).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Someone who wants to paint the least charitable picture possible of Gates could factually describe him as a cutthroat businessman and a philanderer who associated with a pedophile on at least a few documented occasions. And that's ignoring the nuttier Gates conspiracy theories (e.g., Covid microchips).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Sure, everyone knows him. But he'd rather be known as a voracious reader who fought polio & malaria and provided drinkable water to millions. Not a bad use of his billions - what else could he spend those on that would materially affect his life?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Ecstatify 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It looks like he’s been focused on building his public image over the past few years, perhaps aiming for a Nobel Prize.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • mikkelam 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              >While I respect anyone’s decision to spend their days playing pickleball, that life isn’t quite for me—at least not full time. I’m lucky to wake up every day energized to go to work

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Bit of an unfair comparison though.. Most people dont retire from a job where you're literally handing people money.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              That said, I'm a huge fan Bill's work post-microsoft :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • codr7 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He did a good job at cleaning up his public image, no doubt that cost quite a fortune.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Still the same greedy asshole though.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Blankono 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I don't think at all he is a greedy asshole. He did more good than anywone else on the planet at this point.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Alone his money and the pledge he pused is breathaking.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Why would you say he is a greedy asshole while he spends all his money to help humans?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Trump is greedy. Musk thinks probably he is good but is greedy as f and wants to go to mars because he thinks earth cant be saved anymore. But Gates?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • codr7 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I don't need you to repeat the propaganda, I know what the official narrative is. And it's mostly lies, especially the part about Gates suddenly turning from asshole to saint.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • remus 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                No criticism of the man, but I think he may fail in this part of his goal

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                > 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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It's easy to forget how absurdly wealthy the very richest in society are. Say he started this initiative on his 70th birthday and he's spreading his giving fairly lineraly over the next 20 years but dies just 1 day short of his 90th birthday, he'd still have about $13,698,630 to his name. I think most would consider someone with that money to their name rich.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • 999900000999 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  >The Gates Foundation’s mission remains rooted in the idea that where you are born should not determine your opportunities.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Arguably he's already done so much for billions of people. Had typing on computers not became the main way businesses communicate , anyone with bad, handwriting would be stuck in menial work.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  When I was growing up in the 90s my hand writing was so bad it was assumed I would never amount to anything.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Then computers completely take over all aspects of business in the early 2000s. No one is writing TPS reports by hand.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  All of a sudden my horrible handwriting doesn't matter. It's still really bad. But I've made 6 figures for well over a decade, along with an amazing year at about 200k.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  None of this would of been possible without Gates. I also owe the creator of Android Andy Rubin. It's been a while ( and it might of been one of the other co founders), but I was able to thank Rubin. His response was something like "Well, we still need to get building applications working on Android."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I've also been able to thank( on this forum) Brendan Eich, the inventor of my first programming language, JavaScript. Amazingly humble for someone who helped create trillions in wealth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Apart of me thinks Gates could still lead some innovation in computing. I hope somehow he's still coding under a pseudonym perhaps, and occasionally answering tech questions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  His gift to us has been this amazing industry.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Johanx64 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Pretty much everything you named is simply first-to-the-market horror-show from design perspective.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Javascript? Check.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Android? Check.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Windows? Again, capturing market via transitioning from DOS.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    They did focus on many important things like having exceptional backwards compatibility (transitioning from DOS, etc), and kernel team does a decent job usually, but none of this is necessarily attributable to Gates and it's simply what you have to do to capture a market/platform.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I don't know if this is genuine sentiment you're expressing or just naivety, but people that can glaze this hard this easily usually go very far in life. I'll give you that, I wish I could do this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 999900000999 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      >I don't know if this is genuine sentiment you're expressing or just naivety, but people that can glaze this hard this easily usually go very far in life. I'll give you that, I wish I could do this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ohh it's 100% genuine, I went from living on food stamps, multiple evictions to 200k at my peak. Making a bit less now , but I'm still very comfortable.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ultimately these technologies made computing and programming extremely easy and cheap. You can make a lot of money using your Windows PC to code Android apps in JavaScript.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I'm a not tech purist, if it works it works. Yes better OSes and languages exist, but they weren't really accessible to me. I still suggest most new programmers start with JavaScript or Python so you don't get too bogged down with boilerplate and type systems.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • queuebert 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I agree with this. We had multiple windowing environments, all arguably superior in various ways, and we had multiple office suites, all with better technology than the Microsoft versions. Then I wonder how much worse off are we because Windows and Office came to predominate instead of one of the others? How much rent seeking has gone into building Gates' fortune? How much has been lost financially by innocent users to Windows security vulnerabilities?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        On the handwriting thing, I see a general decline in my children's handwriting because they spend so much time typing. That bothers me personally, since I appreciate good handwriting, and I would think it spills over into other fine-motor skills tasks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • bombcar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In no way would I want to downplay Gates' effect on the industry (though I personally think it was much more in the 80s and early 90s than in the heyday of the 2000s) I think people would have built computers without him, and its possible that we would have been better off overall in a world where the Amiga won, not the IBM PC, or the Mac, etc.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Gates is more notable for NOT Netscaping or Sunning or Lotus-123ing his company than for any particular decision.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • 999900000999 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I don't see computers being widely adapted without Microsoft deciding to essentially give Windows away to OEMs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Of course this was anti competitive, but it was a massive net good.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The point is computers became extremely cheap. We're at the point where you can get a used laptop for 100$, install Linux on it and write code to your hearts content. The only thing limiting you is your own skill set.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I don't think computers become affordable without Microsoft

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • toast0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > I don't see computers being widely adapted without Microsoft deciding to essentially give Windows away to OEMs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I'm not sure how making the OEMs pay for a license on all the computers they sold (and report on those numbers), regardless of what was installed is 'essentially giving away'. Yes, the OEM price was a lot lower than the retail price, but OEM versions came without direct support, and at least for large OEMs, without all of the trappings of retail (wholesalers/distributors/cross marketing expenses/shelf rental/etc)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • schmookeeg 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          > When I was growing up in the 90s my hand writing was so bad it was assumed I would never amount to anything.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I'm curious where you grew up? I am high school class of 1992. I skipped third grade, where a lot of penmanship is taught. We had a computer lab in Junior High (so late 1980s), I had a PC Clone at home that we bought in 1985. I'd turn in writing assignments printed on my epson dot matrix printer. To my knowledge, my appalling handwriting was never considered by anyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • abeyer 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            This feels like one of those threats teachers use to reinforce something they don't have any other strong argument to support... while reminding you that it will end up "on your permanent record."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • tgv 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            What an exaggeration. We had typewriters before the 90s. Apple, Commodore, and Atari arguably had an earlier influence than Gates.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • zabzonk 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Gates (who I admire) did not invent the computer terminal, the word processor or the spreadsheet.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • FridayoLeary 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Why would bad handwriting be a barrier to success? I'm asking honestly. After all it's a trope that doctors have terrible handwriting, and typewriters and word processors have been around for ages. Also, talking from experience bad handwriting can easily be improved by paying a bit more attention to what you are doing and some practise.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • dennis_jeeves2 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  >None of this would of been possible without Gates.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The computer would have taken off regardless of him. Just like the electric bulb and the radio, the computer had no one single inventor/promoter/business.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • pfannkuchen 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I feel like if, in the counterfactual where people continued writing things by hand, as an adult you thought your handwriting was holding you back, you could probably improve it? It’s not an innate property of a human, it’s a practiced skill. And as a child there is not a good incentive structure to make kids who aren’t for some reason perfectionistic learn to write really well.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • toast0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      > When I was growing up in the 90s my hand writing was so bad it was assumed I would never amount to anything.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I dunno, my 3rd grade teacher in the 80s said of my handwriting "We've done all we can do. He'll have a secretary, so it'll be ok"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Sadly, I never had a secretary; but my terrible handwriting hasn't been a major deterrent to getting things done.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • sokoloff 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        > None of this would have been possible without Gates.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Though he and his company did a lot to change the prevalence of typing, if he or Microsoft didn’t come along, someone else would have led the computing revolution with probability 1.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • perilunar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          They didn't even lead — everything they did was unoriginal.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • padjo 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Is this satire? Bill Gates didn’t invent computers, he just started the company that won the PC revolution, very talented and intelligent, but also well placed and lucky.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • codr7 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            And greedy/ruthless.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • yoyohello13 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Gates seems like a real embodiment of "Effective Altruism".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          1. Get a bunch of money by any means necessary.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          2. Donate/invest in altruistic causes.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Unfortunately, most people that use effective altruism to justify themselves hoarding wealth seem to forget the second part.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ascagnel_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I was talking about this with a friend recently -- Romans flaunted their wealth by improving shared social infrastructure (open market spaces, parks, etc), and the robber barons of the 19th century flaunted their wealth by building cultural institutions (eg Carnegie libraries).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It seems like most "effective altruists" want to do things that help "humanity" but don't help "people" -- so developing technology to explore the stars is on the table, but fighting poverty is not.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • zozbot234 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              > It seems like most "effective altruists" want to do things that help "humanity" but don't help "people" -- so developing technology to explore the stars is on the table, but fighting poverty is not.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              You seem to have very weird ideas about how EA funding works in practice. Long-termism is flashy and peculiar so it gets a lot of excess visibility, but "fighting poverty" tends to get the bulk of EA money, and the most controversial cause that still gets real sizeable funding seems to be animal welfare.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • kridsdale1 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Well all we in HN-adjacent spaces hear about is the EA people getting rich so they can build a RoccoBasilisc-countering super weapon or something.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • flexagoon 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                > developing technology to explore the stars is on the table, but fighting poverty is not.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Weird that you have that impression, since most EA-related organizations (GiveWell, Effective Altruism Foundation, etc) are heavily focused on donating to charities that address poverty or malaria in Africa

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • surement 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > by any means necessary

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  This implies that they got rich by pillaging instead of countless people voluntarily giving them money in exchange for what they offered.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • antisthenes 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > 1. Get a bunch of money by any means necessary.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  This assumes the money would not have been better spent by giving it to the workers of the company that generated it in the first place.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • kridsdale1 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Microsoft’s first 10,000 employees became phenomenally wealthy at the IPO. That’s far more of a worker paradise than any startup unicorn you’ll see today.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • guywithahat 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      > by any means necessary.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      While I agree this is technically accurate, it implies there was something imoral about how he got his money. He created the most popular modern OS and a myriad of other technical innovations. It would be almost impossible to create more positive good in the world through his charitable donations than Microsoft

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • AlexandrB 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        This is such a whitewash of Microsoft's history. There's a reason Microsoft is a convicted monopolist - they used brutally unfair tactics to push out competitors, including open source ones. Have we all forgotten the IE winter when browser innovation stopped for almost a decade thanks to Microsoft killing Netscape in the crib?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Microsoft is not an ethical company - a pattern that has continued today with their user-hostile decisions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • maest 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Gates was so hated during the early growth days of Microsoft, that he literally got pied in the face.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK6SS8CXYZo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 1970-01-01 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        99% of 100B puts him with 1B in wealth remaining in 20 years. Bill will die extremely wealthy by any measure.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • tantalor 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          That would put him in the ranks of Marissa Mayer, Sundar Pichai, Sheryl Sandberg, Reid Hoffman, Palmer Luckey, Tim Cook, Evan Spiegel.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • toomuchtodo 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Related:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Bill Gates pledges 99% of his fortune to Gates Foundation - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43926212 - May 2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • abetaha 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It is heartwarming to see him continuing to give away most of his wealth even if he's left with a billion or more at the end, and I wish other uber-rich would follow suit.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • nashashmi 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              If Bill Gates gave away 10% every year of the wealth he has, after 20 years, he would have remaining 12%.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              He should dedicate the remaining 12% to venture capital for all of the businesses he crushed and the people who suffered, for “boiling the tech space” and killing the innovation. The least he can do.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And the rest of the rich crooks should do the same dedicating their wealth to reversing the harm that they caused.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • perilunar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Bill Gates is rich in part because his company screwed over so many people. Sure they made some products that people wanted and needed, but they also shipped some real crap and behaved like arseholes. It's good that he's giving it all away; it would have been better if he had less because his company was more ethical.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • gantron 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Agreed. You can really tell commenters' ages based on whether they recall this. The Gates you describe is the one I remember from the '90s.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I have to assume that anyone who thinks of Gates as a rich old man who just wants to cure Malaria is quite a bit younger (or their memory is easily overwritten).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • dzamo_norton 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Something like Robin Hood in the final analysis?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • WillAdams 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Can he do something to make up for taking away MacBasic?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    https://www.folklore.org/MacBasic.html

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • xlbuttplug2 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Surely the people with these knee-jerk reactions lead lives that would hold up under similar scrutiny :)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • jll29 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It is an interesting game-theoretic question how to spend money x (say, hundreds of billions) to maximize good.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Should you first educate anyone who cannot read or write?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Should you first feed anyone hungry/thirsty?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Should you first provide shelter for all without homes?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Should you first make peace for all without safety?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        (all the way down the Maslow pyramid of needs)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        How would the philanthropic billaires united ensure peace, if he had even more money? (Should one "buy" a military force that is mightier than any country's, to send out the message that every nation that started an armed conflict would regret it? Not sure if that could suppress war, but perhaps one would not feel inclined to call that "peace"...)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        If I had the financial means, by gut instinct I would start out with the most vulnerable, those that can least help themselves, e.g. orphaned small children, the handicapped, the unborn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        However, in a geopolitically unstable world one could then argue it is a "waste" of resources to help people by first feeding them when they get invaded and killed by their neighboring country soon after. But creating world peace has historically not been something that a single person - billionair or otherwise - has been able to solve.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • daveguy 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          > If I had the financial means, by gut instinct I would start out with the most vulnerable, those that can least help themselves, e.g. orphaned small children, the handicapped, the unborn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You left out expectant mothers under control of a repressive regime that demands their death sacrifice.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • svieira 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Mothers are vulnerable too. All that means is that two vulnerable people need care. The law in some places says that only one of them does. Anywhere that it says that, it is wrong.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • perilunar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > Should one "buy" a military force that is mightier than any country's

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            You'd be better off starting a clandestine agency that simply assassinates evil people. If anyone who started a war or oppressed their people was bumped off they would soon learn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • seraphsf 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bravo!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Future generation will be richer and better-off than the present. Saving your charity for the future is, effectively, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Also, giving now maximizes the compounding effect of your charity. Saving 100 lives today is way better than saving 10 lives every decade for the next 10 decades.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Taqas 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I've been reading about him giving away his fortune for 20 years. If I say I give away my fortune it's done within a week. Yet, he is still one of the richest people on earth. He's done good, but still I'm cynical about his motives.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • johnwheeler 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                You can’t spend 2 hundred billion dollars in “weeks”. Haven’t you seen Brewster’s Millions?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Falimonda 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  What do you believe are his motives?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • iamleppert 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It's never made sense to me that the ultra rich wouldn't want to give their money away while they are still living? You know, to see the actual results and impact of that money and make sure it is having the impact you want? What is the point of holding onto it until you die? Meanwhile you see the world's problems getting worse and worse, yet you hold on to the money waiting for your own death? It makes no sense if you truly are altruistic.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It's the same thing as if a child who was given all the toys decided they want to hoard them for themself until after they were no longer a child.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • dayvid 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I really like the idea of a non-profit with an end goal. It makes it much more targeted and accountable. Even providing bonuses (within reason and making it difficult to game) for completing the goal quicker would work as well.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • iancmceachern 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Good, I hope they distribute it in ways that last, and have lasting positive impact.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • dyauspitr 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Thank you Mr. Gates, for everything your foundation has accomplished.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • dfaiv 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          It _feels_ like none of this works without functioning governments
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • purpleidea 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bill Gates has done more harm to software and innovation than anyone in history.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            He's a bad dude, and the only reason he does all this is so that waiters don't spit in his food at fancy restaurants.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The world suffers under the crippling weight of proprietary M$ Windoze everywhere, and we're far worse off because of it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Want to help, donate money to support Free Software projects with strong copyleft licenses.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • mancerayder 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              While many of us Linux and open source nerds share the sentiment you described, I seriously doubt waiters see him and remember how they murdered the competition by bundling software with Windows OS in the 90s and 2000s.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • mancerayder 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Unless those waiters are unemployed local tech workers who aged out.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • piyuv 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Wrong crowd, but upvoted nonetheless.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • orochimaaru 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  You could always buy a Linux laptop or an android tablet. Tablets and smartphones is where windows lost. Those devices far outnumber PCs. Your complaint about windows is old. You have options to not use it today.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Now he did lose my trust and that’s because of two things:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. His association with Epstein. It is documented and quite possibly the reason for his divorce.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. His trust made controversial deals during Covid. The poorer countries wanted the formula so that they could scale up production themselves. However, the gates foundation supported the patent on the vaccines instead and had themselves and middlemen to arbitrate price on the supply

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • brutuscat 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Nice! And with what he will be left he could, if he deploys it also during 20y, help 1200 people per month. With 1k daily give aways.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://ayudaefectiva.org/simula

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Or with 10k daily, 310k monthly, adjusted by historical inflation it’s 100 million during 20 years.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  That’s 3 million people helped.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • fallingknife 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The only less beneficial way I can think of to use his money would be to turn it all into cash and set it on fire to lower the money supply.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • toast0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I've been getting email for 3 decades about Bill Gates giving away his money like this.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • VGS7 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Several of you mentioned mission drift. I wholeheartedly agree - just look at Harvard Divinity School. Regardless of your religious beliefs, that drift is insane.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      However, isn’t one fix for organizations simply to have committee by-laws that say the mission statement can’t be altered?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Seems obvious yet a neglected item.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • akomtu 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        What would you do with so much money?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        At his level, he doesn't just spend or give away a pile of money, he is somewhat like a force of nature: he controls and directs a significant portion of the money stream in the world. Think of what the Gulfstream does for air, but for money.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        His story started with computers: he was among the few who built the foundation of the technocratic civilization. Computers and machinery have created a good deal of prosperity, but there is a grave problem with it: computers and machinery have been completely isolated from ethics. Research in AI is no longer guided by what's good for humanity, but by what's possible. Today this manifests in such relatively innocent crimes as disregarding copyright and data privacy when training AI. But that's a sign of a deeper disease: the isolation from ethics. If it's allowed to continue like that, in a few decades this anti-ethical AI will kill at first humanity within humans and then the civilization itself.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        IMO, the biggest difference he can make now is finishing the story that he started long ago, by bringing the AI beast under the umbrella of ethical control. It won't stop it, but will significantly reduce the fall out.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • csense 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            There's been a lot of news about how US government funding cuts to programs like USAID, people say those programs are vital. Could some of those initiatives be picked up by private philanthropy from Gates and others?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • senko 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              $108B net worth now (per chart in the article), so he will be left with paltry $1B.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Still, would be beautiful to see all megarich do the same. Keep a few yachts, mansions and planes if you give back a few small countries' worth of GDP back.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • bombcar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Apparently billionaires in the USA hold 4.48 trillion, 756 of them or so.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                So if they all dumped their wealth and saved a billion (should be enough to retire on, even for the conservative portfolio!) we would have 3.72 trillion - it would cover the US deficit for two, maybe three years.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • senko 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Or to spin this another way: Americans spend around $200B* annually on education (private spend, on top of federal/state/local education spend), so this would provide all-expenses-paid free tuition for everyone for 18 years, or more than 50 years if focusing on primary/secondary education. In that time, there might be a new crop of megarich to continue the cycle :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ([*] $50B for primary/secondary ed, $150B for higher - figures via Kagi Assistant, which I didn't double-check).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • esoterae 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The fact that this must occur to address even a portion of humanitarian necessity is an indelible indication that our current government systems are incompetent likely through capture.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • devenson 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  >There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  You can't hold onto it regardless.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The best you can do is choose who gets it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • toenail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    > You can't hold onto it regardless.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I can, I can take my bitcoin private keys with me when I die. He could do the same if he wanted to.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • bombcar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Even that doesn't hold onto it. It just inflates the value of the remaining stash, and effectively "donates" it to all other holders.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Of course, if the keys are later found, then you crash everyone out.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • toenail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Nobody magically knows why coins don’t move. Could just be generational savings.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • mithametacs 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        You don’t hold onto it. It’s just lost when you die.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Heaven has no bitcoin ATMs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • toenail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You can’t know the unknown.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • amanaplanacanal 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          In theory, doesn't that just distribute the value to all other Bitcoin holders? I dunno. It's hard to think about the value of something this abstract.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Beijinger 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Not all of his wealth is so clean as it looks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The competition against Linux was often nasty. Governments often got a bad deal. Think Munich and Linux.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        And I still remember ugly stories about licensing of windows and Africa. This was not necessary Billy who did it, but he profited from the corruption.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Admire Linus. Admire Richard Stallmann. Don't admire Bill.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • keybored 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I try not to spare a thought to what the true person or character is when they have the means to buy their reputation a hundred times over.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • RataNova 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          How much power is concentrated in the hands of individuals... It's great that Gates is choosing to use that power philanthropically, but it also raises questions about the long-term role of private wealth in solving public problems.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • adverbly 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            +1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            This is great, but what about the rich people who don't give? Won't they just continue to get more and more power?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The scales are tipped and this is not sustainable. Gary Stevenson is a bit extreme, but he's not wrong about centralization and it's dangers!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • RataNova 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The system relies too much on the whims of individuals rather than building durable, democratic institutions that tackle these problems consistently
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              When the government doesn't do it, private parties have to; when there's a significant percentage of the population voting for "small government" parties, more responsibility goes to (wealthy) individuals.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • otikik 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                When the government doesn't do it, it's because wealthy individuals have already bought the government. And have invested huge amounts of money into bamboozling the population into voting against their own interests.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • coryfklein 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > private parties have to

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  No they don't. It can also be that neither the government nor private parties give.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Making it an either/or often makes space for the individual to make excuses for why they don't share because out there somewhere there exists some government program that vaguely looks like charity.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • newsclues 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    If the government do it, because they are lobbied not to, so that private parties (with lobbyists) can, there is potential moral hazard.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • njdas 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [dead]
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 0_____0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      His letter basically says this, explicitly stating that government is needed for things like eradicating Polio.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        He talks about this in today's NY Times interview and he is pretty unsparing against Elon Musk in particular for his role in killing USAID. Says he is directly complicit in killing children while at the same time, he is technically still a signatory of the Giving Pledge.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • CamperBob2 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Well, it's not as if the public sector is solving many problems these days. We seem to have decided, collectively, that we'd rather have more problems.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        At least that's what we've been voting for.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • biophysboy 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The public sector has many problems, but they do pick up the tab when disaster strikes.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • RataNova 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Fair point, public trust in institutions has eroded for a reason. But if we give up on the idea that the public sector should solve problems, we're basically conceding the game to whoever happens to have the most money and the least accountability
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • alabastervlog 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              > We seem to have decided, collectively, that we'd rather have more problems.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ... because a faction of the rich decided they wanted the poors to believe government can't do anything useful, and launched an ongoing decades-long propaganda campaign to that effect.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • eej71 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I think that's an incredibly simplistic and naive view of why large public projects gobble up colossal sums of money and don't have much to show for it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • nradov 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  You're correct to an extent, but "the rich" also have a point there. As a taxpayer, the level of waste and incompetence in government spending on those problems is horrifying. It doesn't have to be that way. We don't need to spend billions of dollars and decades of time just to get minor infrastructure projects completed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • lapcat 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  That's because the ultra-wealthy control the elections via unlimited campaign contributions, "independent" group spending, lobbying, providing lucrative jobs to ex-politicians, or even running for office themselves. Both of the major political parties are corrupted by money, just in different ways, different funding sources. The news media has also been centralized, monopolized, and increasingly, owned directly by billionaires.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The public sector doesn't work because it's been sabotaged by the private sector.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • RataNova 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Yeah, that's a big part of the problem, I think
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • whattheheckheck 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      How can it when it's a thankless job that other psychopathic politicians will rally the people you're trying to help against you?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • bogwog 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Well, consider how our voting priorities would change if billionaires had less of an impact on elections? Would we be where we are today if, for example, Musk couldn't spend over a quarter billion dollars influencing the 2024 election?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • knowitnone 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          the rich have always impacted elections through advertisements, campaigns donations, etc.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • lesuorac 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I honestly don't think Musk affected 2024 to any real extent. Look at how much narrower Harris's loss was than other incumbent losses in 2024. If anything you could make the argument Musk tanked Trump's lead like Trump tanked Poilievre.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Democrats running a candidate that lost their only attempts during a competitive primary. As well as that candidate being unable to read the room and saying they'd do the same economic decisions as the unpopular _incumbent_ Biden. And they still were within 1% of votes!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • toenail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          If there's a problem to solve, there is a business opportunity. What do you propose instead?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • malcolmgreaves 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            No. Capitalism is ineffective at solving lots of problems. Particularly problems of the kind where there is universal inelastic demand, where competition makes the end arrive or product less affordable or efficient, where externalities are not priced in, and where there are single/few or a unique instance of a thing that can be used by the public.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Examples: healthcare, food and water for sustenance; insurance; pollution; parks and roadways, residential property; respectively.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • toenail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              You didn’t answer the question. I get it, you think capitalism is bad. What do you propose instead?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • adverbly 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Amazing to see how much wealth he was still gaining these past years.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          This giving will have a huge impact. It sure is needed at the moment!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ChristopherDrum 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I have seriously mixed feelings about this kind of philanthropy. Yes, it is good that he's going to give his wealth away like this. I do not want to diminish his efforts in that!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But also, why collect such wealth in the first place? What was the point? Was the money really better off being hoarded by one person with the fingers crossed hope that they'll spend it altruistically someday? The existence of the wealth imbalance itself, and the general practice of wealth hoarding, are frustrating counterbalances to the good of giving it away.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • etruong42 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Will the Gates Foundation help keep alive USAID programs? Should it?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • swyx 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                i think it is telling that we trust Bill Gates to give away his wealth more effectively than if the same assets were handed over to the UN or some other global health charity. why?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • zelon88 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    About time. Where the hell has this guy been? Guy makes hundreds of billions of dollars off the backs of working Americans and then leaves to donate all that American money to India in the form of public toilets under the guise of philanthropy. Meanwhile the country that made him a billionaire is literally falling to a fascist coup.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Seriously, just screw off. We needed you 3 months ago. We'll call you when it's time for your day in court at Nuremburg 2.0.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • astrolx 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion." https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/30/18203911/davos-...
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • wormlord 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Remember when Gates refused to lift IP restrictions on the COVID vaccine

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-world-loses-under-bi...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • argsnd 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          There were, I think, fair reasons to do this. A patent-free "people's vaccine" may well have reached fewer people because there's got to be money in scaling up the production of something like this.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • wormlord 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It also conveniently benefits him greatly.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • ChicagoDave 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              How? Guy doesn’t need anything. He’s never played the greedy billionaire part.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Vaccine IP is also a moving target. You need experts to work at it non-stop. Covid-19 mutates every three months.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • PieTime 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He’s also buying up a lot of farm land in US…
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • MR4D 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            As a guy who on numerous occasions has been in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy, why doesn’t he just write a huge check to the IRS and be done with it?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            At least that would make him consistent.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • kevinventullo 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              “Donating” to the IRS is an imperfect solution that scales to all billionaires. If he’s only solving for his individual wealth, he can fine tune it to more specific causes.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • MR4D 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                But think of all the people who will die before he donates it all. Thats why he’s being inconsistent.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • jmward01 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I am glad to see this approach by Gates, but relying on billionaires to do the right thing is not a reliable strategy for society.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • joezydeco 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                You could maybe compensate all the people and companies you put out of business by throwing your weight around in the 80s and 90s.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Maybe throw Jerry Kaplan a billion or two for fucking up his launch of the Go Communicator.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Seeing downvotes, which means you haven't been around long enough to remember all the shit Gates pulled back in the go-go 90s. ANY new technology would instantly get a press release from Microsoft saying they were working on the same thing, leaving customers and investors to wait for Microsoft's product. Which most of the time never came or was stillborn. Gates was an asshole, and he might still be, but a tidal wave of greenwashing can fix anything in the good 'ol USA. Now he's a fucking saint, right?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • geoka9 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  My (bigger) problem with his legacy is Windows on every government (or otherwise important) computer and all the botnets and compromised elections, espionage and destruction enabled by it over the years.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • ChicagoDave 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    That’s a people problem. Not a Bill Gates problem.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Any system will eventually attract corrupt people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • lapcat 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > Today, the list of human diseases the world has eradicated has just one entry: smallpox... I’m optimistic that, by the time the foundation shuts down, we can also add malaria and measles.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  What is Gates going to do about the anti-vaxxers, especially now that they're running the US government health programs?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Many of the problems that the Gates Foundation wants to solve are effectively political. In other words, the dysfunction of governments allows these problems to fester, such that the only, temporary solution is for someone like Gates to step in. What is Gates doing to solve the fundamental political problems? The foundation is trying to do the work that governments should be doing, so what happens after Gates dies and/or his money runs out?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Gates has a scathing critique of Elon Musk, accusing Musk of killing millions of children, but that's the inevitable outcome of a system where everything depends on the whims of billionaires. Gates himself appears like a rarity among them now, with a bit of a conscience and sense of public responsibility. We may praise Gates for his philanthropy, but it would be irresponsible of us, the non-billionaires, to leave the public's welfare to chance like that, and neither should Gates, about to turn 70 years old, support a world that depends on his personal existence in that world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • beloch 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The one problem Gates doesn't seem willing to tackle in earnest is the billionaire problem.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    i.e. Somebody close to the control of money funnels a disproportionate (based on expertise, intelligence, effort, contribution, etc.) amount to themselves. They quickly come to view this as the just natural order and view anyone who disagrees as a communist hater.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Elon Musk is the current best example. Despite spending most of his time at twitter last year, Tesla was trying to set Musk's compensation at over $100 billion[1]. For what, exactly?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Bill Gates was every bit the problem billionaire in his own time. Only a tiny proportion of billionaires ever decide to engage in significant philanthropy, much of which wouldn't be necessary if their peers weren't draining society of the capital to do it's own research and building. Some argue that billionaires can serve society by hoarding resources and then directing them intelligently in directions governments are too stupid to consider, but that argument falls flat if most billionaires never get past the hoarding stage. Gates has called on his peers to do more. Few have listened.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    It's great that a few former robber barons are engaged in serious philanthropy, but it's like slapping a band-aid on a bullet wound. It would be far better to stop the shooting. Reigning in executive pay would be a solid start. How do we do that?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    [1]https://www.investopedia.com/elon-musks-multi-billion-dollar...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • bilbo0s 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Sorry. But you don't get to be a billionaire working as an executive.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Don't misunderstand me, I'm all for reigning in excessive executive pay. We should do so in any case. However, what I'm trying to say is, we can reign in executive pay as much as we like, and billionaires will simply siphon that leftover money to themselves in addition to the money they currently hoover up.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • dhosek 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oh man, I shouldn’t have deleted that email from Bill Gates offering me four million dollars that ended up in my spam folder.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • mrtksn 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It seems like he intends to give away the same way he did until now.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        How is this a good idea considering that a political instability can wipe out all that effort?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Here's an idea: Give away your wealth to run unprofitable but essential "machines" like social media and news organizations to stop the vicious circle the humanity plunged in. Do it just like Musk but hand it to an independent organization that does't push for an agenda or profits.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Russians for example, pay social media personalities to push their talking points or even better they pay people who push talking points that are beneficial to them without directly agreeing on the transaction. Hijack the method, pay influencers you believe are beneficial for your causes and ideals.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It may look like just another billionaire trying to influence politics but you can make it into transparent institution. You can award prizes(monetary and honorary) like Nobel did.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Wouldn't be great if Twitter was run buy a transparent institution that releases logs, stats and full source code and doesn't need to do sketchy shit? Sure it would be imperfect but it can be beneficial, like Wikipedia for example.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Make social media into an impartial infrastructure with decades of runway and let people build the specialized things around it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          From his perspective, there are millions of people dying of infectious diseases and other very treatable conditions. That's the urgent problem and the one he can solve very directly.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Throwing money at media just turns it into a financial arms race against other rich forces like that, with the recipients of that media (you and I) as the targets. The only way to win is not to play. Or at least support independent media, use the money to boost politicians that will advocate for and defend the free media.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • xyst 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The thought that a _few_ benevolent billionaires will save the world was a preposterous notion in the 2000s and is still an absurd notion today.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          This is nothing more than a billionaire (with a rich history of his own in destroying society) trying to buy his reputation back.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Reminds me of all of the billionaire shitheads (Walmart/Walton Family, Purdue Pharma/Sacklers, …) that buy the naming rights on education facilities, dying arts academies, and even libraries. Nothing but trying to wash away the guilt.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Our shitty family contributed to the opioid addiction en masse all in the name of profit, but hey at least you get a reduced or free tuition to pristine art academy or academic institution (if you meet criteria).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tax the rich. End subsidies given to ultra wealthy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • devops000 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            His son must be happy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • steakscience 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Where do I sign up?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • n2dasun 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  My body is ready
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tough 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Every billionaire running these are just doing tax avoidalnce at the highest levels i assume?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Spinnaker_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      You think that they hate paying the government money so much that they.... give it all away instead? Yeah, that's some brilliant tax avoidance.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • tough 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Aren't those donations the equivalent of buying out foreign governments through these?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Seems like that to me

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • GeoAtreides 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          they ''''give'''' it to their own foundation, controlled by their heirs....
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Disposal8433 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            In a democracy, they would give it indirectly through taxes. That should teach you something about both their goals and the world we're living in.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • PieTime 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Yes, https://youtu.be/KO3-xkVACgE?si=suWJxu_TCPq37V6W

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Cannot ignore that his communicable disease research and treatment has been effective. But his school voucher and farming initiative have been awful. Ultimately it would have been better as general revenue to provide these services through government.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • tough 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              hey at least they’re doing things.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              i guess

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              tbh seems a lot of this setup is also good ole corruption with a legal veneer of goodwill wrapping

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • BirAdam 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I’ll take a million, thanks.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • peter-m80 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Bullshit. He's not donating. He's investing.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It would be more effective to use his wealth to put a president that is not a war criminal and stop making US the bully of the world. That would be a blessing for humanity

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • pcdoodle 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I'm sorry: Fuck Bill Gates.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • wewewedxfgdf 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The only billionaire worthy of deep respect.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  And I don't care about your Gates hating, for whatever reasons you have I am just not interested the cynicism and conspiracy theories about Gates - tell it to the hand.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • skandium 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  One of the great tragedies of the world is that while he is arguably the philanthropist with the highest positive impact in human history, a significant part of the population seems to still think he is the literal Antichrist.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • larodi 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This statement is so 90s and so BOFH-centered that it is irrelevant to a level of stupidity. Gates has done a lot to prove he's not a cold-hearted mf and compared to all the bros in their prime at the moment, dude, just think of Elon or Larry Ellison, well our man Billy is really very much a bright persona.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • posix_compliant 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Rationally, you're correct. But emotionally, there's a lot of people who don't understand why someone would provide a free service without an ulterior motive. Gates talks about this a bit on the Trevor Noah podcast.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • wongarsu 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Microsoft's company practices under Gates don't help, but they are far from the main issue people have with him nowadays. Most people aren't even aware of the things Microsoft did.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        People think he is the antichrist because he promotes vaccines and because there are multiple quotes of him where he explains that he wants to reduce the world's population. By raising the standard of living and giving healthcare to the poor, which empirically seem to cause lower birth rates, but lots of nutjobs assume he tests weaponized vaccines or something like that. And people are distrusting of people who appear too altruistic in general, thinking it's some kind of con (and often they are right).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • hamburglar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          There is a difference between reducing the world’s population and slowing its growth rate. The highest growth rates are necessarily in areas with high mortality. People have more babies to compensate for this mortality. Improve mortality rates and the population growth naturally goes down.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • turnsout 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Agreed—I spent the 90s idolizing Jobs and despising Gates. But today I have deep respect for Gates and the way he's using his wealth as a positive force in the world. Jobs had better taste and was a more effective product leader, but I'm sorry to say that he sucked as a philanthropist. It's disappointing that he spent ANY of his mental energy at the end of his life building that dumb $100M yacht, rather than focusing on his legacy.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • kmoser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Better taste? How so, and why does that matter when we're talking about moral character?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • el_benhameen 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I think the comment was referring more to the antivax/conspiracy crowd who often mix Gates in with Soros, etc. in their stories. Still plenty of those folks.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • crossroadsguy 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              > irrelevant to a level of stupidity

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Is that ever?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I am not saying Gates is a monster. So I am not commenting on him. I am commenting on your logic of doing supposed good and hence they becoming good.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              When you look at the history of most colonial monsters you will notice is an often repeated trend. Those despicable monster amassing wealth literally on the bodies of natives and then going back home (including some to USA) and buying a "good name" (sometimes literally in the form of those fancy titles and peerages etc).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Oh by the way, Musk and Ellison from your example are benign non-beings compared to pretty much all those "monsters".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I don't know where you are from or where you are now but a lot of world sees "good deeds of good people" with great suspicion.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • mhh__ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The impression I get is that he's just cold hearted but directing it towards charity. Not in an evil sense although perhaps it's lucky.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  People like the bill gates of the 90s don't just disappear

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • BSOhealth 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  My guess would be, actually a very small number of people think he’s the antichrist. Why would anyone other than someone with decades of operating system passion even care who this guy is? They know he’s a rich guy. Big deal. I’d guess most people just live their lives and don’t care about Microsoft monopoly or FOSS or anything. The same can probably be said for his altruism—most people probably have no idea.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • swiftcoder 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The antivax movement has been demonising the medical side of his foundation for decades at this point - I'd wager the folks who weren't born in the 90s are more likely to have heard about that than about the genesis of Windows
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • SoftTalker 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The antivax movement is a tiny number of fringe wackos. Normal people are not against normal vaccines, even if some of them had concerns about one recent one in particular.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Azkron 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      For many people "wealthy = evil". And "poor = good". It is easier to demonize someone that is doing better than you than to admit that maybe he is just making better choices.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • keybored 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The poor can be anything. A wealthy person could have worked hard for it. A wealthy person could have also exploited others in order to get wealthy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Virtually all (meaning systemically) very wealthy people had to exploit others to get to their very wealthy state.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • SwamyM 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yea, his involvement with the Covid vaccine research seems to have made him a target for a large portion of the GOP/MAGA contingent. They are convinced that he wants to use the vaccine to implant a microchip in everyone and control them.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • wincy 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Huh? You must not hang around middle America, out here people act like Bill Gates wants to vaccinate all of Africa in order to sterilize them and also put microchips in your brain. I guarantee if I asked five random people on the street in Kansas about what they think of Bill Gates, half of them would say “oh right he’s like doing bad stuff with the Illuminati?” or something similar.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • nicce 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But that is not Bill Gates' fault because he hasn't been doing it in reality. I think the difference still matters. Only the restricted set of conspiracy theorists and their audience thinks otherwise.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • throwaway5752 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Some people will always believe some dumb shit. There is no tragedy, just the regular condition of many people being ignorant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          He also did awful things in the business world when he was younger. He's no saint, either, he is just a normal, messy person. But he's done more for the poorest and neediest people in the world than most countries.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • coryfklein 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > a significant part of the population seems to still think he is the literal Antichrist.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Beware that you don't fall into the trap of thinking the 1% of the population that makes 90% of the noise on the internet is "significant" or a representative sampling of the population. Most everyone else's views are quite boring and detached from extremism, they just don't shout their moderation on the rooftops.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • oulipo 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I'm not sure he's actually the philanthropist with the "highest positive impact", when looking at the "net value"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              he's "extorted" a lot of money from various states by locking and price-gouging, money that would have otherwise been spent on social projects

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              basically he has done

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Gates -> extort money -> fantastic personal wealth -> gave back to organization *he* decides to give too

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              while the normal path would be

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Governments and people have lower spending because they don't need to give Microsoft too much cash -> governments and people decide by themselves how to spend extra money -> there are more, and more diversified, humanitarian actions

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • BurningFrog 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                A lot of people genuinely believe that all rich people are evil, and that they somehow have stolen their wealth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                That people can create wealth is alien to most people!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                They think wealth is money, which leads to a zero sum belief system. That is, if Bill has $200B, he must have taken it from the rest of us.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • sam_lowry_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He is literally buying indulgence for his earlier sins.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Voloskaya 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ah yes, saving millions of kids’ lives through vaccination and virtually eradicating polio is a way to make up for … checks notes… bundling a browser into an OS and not being nice with open source.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Some grass is in need of touching.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • lobotomizer 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      More like making up for enabling genocide through critical support for the Israeli and US militaries.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • dekrg 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yes and Bill Gates is such a good guy that he even remained friends with Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein's conviction. To help children of course. Truly a Bill Gates is a true hero looking out for all the children.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • knowitnone 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      a significant part of Americans are dumb as bricks
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • tasuki 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Can't he be both?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • nicce 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I think he is both. Maybe you need to do some evil before you can do some good, because the general evil does whatever necessary to win in competition, and that is challenging. He would have never got the money he has if he didn't do that.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • rendaw 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            This is assuming that huge wealth inequality is a given and all we can do is pray for a rare oligarch to give some of that money back to those in need.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Edit: I think it's great that he is doing this, but I don't think it's a good system. Giving money is so hard at scale that you need to set up a corporation just to figure out how to do it, and either it's so hard that they can barely shave away at the amount they have or their MO has evolved to include preserving themselves as an entity. If that wealth were more distributed, the social distance between those in need and those with money would be less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • jayd16 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              We could also decide to live in a society that doesn't allow for such runaway wealth consolidation we need the robber barons' hand-outs to do good. C'est la vie.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • amelius 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > still think he is the literal Antichrist.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            And then I suppose that Steve Jobs is the Christ in this story.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            You only have to look at the research output of Microsoft Research to know that it is the other way around. Kind of weird how even smart people get things mixed up.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • bko 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I could understand some of the criticism for charitable work.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            For instance, his foundation pushes birth control in developing nations. On the surface, it look like a just and noble cause.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But imagine how a developed nation would view an act like this on its own people from a foreign body. Imagine some wealthy Chinese national started taking out ads on American television telling Americans to have fewer children and going to poor neighborhoods in the US and handing out free contraceptives.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It's a kind of soft imperialism and social engineering that I imagine a lot of people object to. The guy can't even keep his marriage together and he's insistent on telling people half way around the world how to run their life?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • philosopher1234 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Because, not despite. Let no good deed go unpunished.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • marssaxman 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Al Capone ran a Chicago soup kitchen during the Great Depression, serving hundreds of thousands of free meals. Did this philanthropy absolve him of the harm done while acquiring the fortune which paid for the charity?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 1970-01-01 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Are we talking about Bill putting 5G chips in our vaccines, or are we talking about Bill Gates the total asshole[1]?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Treatment_of_collea...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • queuebert 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I didn't realize Xerox had so many employees.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Yeah, and vaccines are a big reason why. He has seen the benefits of mass vaccination first hand and was a big advocate for pandemic prevention before COVID. COVID really broke a lot of people's brains.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • codr7 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Benefits like less people in Africa and more resources for the ruling class?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • pessimizer 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              You'd be saying the same thing about Epstein if he hadn't been caught.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              What I don't understand is the comradeship I see in people competing to effusively praise oligarchs. Bill Gates fought against technological progress, fought against free and open source software, fought against antitrust, even bribed officials to push out competitors. Why would people pat each other on the back for admiring him?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Even afterwards, when he bought his redemption by showering money upon dubious nonprofits, and by creating other, even more dubious nonprofits - simply paying everyone who could possibly have a problem with him, including dozens of journalistic organizations and hundreds of individual journalists - all of his charitable efforts are still obviously ways to play with various social theories that he has, not to help people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It takes a real psychopath to accumulate that much power, with so few principles, and then to use it to play games with people's lives. His entertainment and the entertainment of his class is endangering the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And I still listen to Michael Jackson, so whatever, but we know that his relationship with Epstein was pretty extensive, and what was said during his divorce (in relation to that) was alarming, as well as the fact that he immediately crumbled and gave her the farm. There's your conspiracy theory; I'm not going to be caught praising a guy for mosquito nets whom I pretty much knew hung out with Epstein for a time as intensely as anyone else did. Epstein was giving away money for elite approval, too.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              What's money for if not for patronage? You can't take it with you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • ipaddr 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He is not the greatest. He is literally taking the playbook from Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller who amassed great wealth then gave it away. These days you have Warren Buffett or Saros doing the same.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Many in tech were along for the Bill Gates show and felt he was a negative actor to the industry in many ways. The fact that he is taking that wealth and channeling it through charity to achieve what he believes is important worries many on both sides of the political divide because of the enormous amounts of power he has.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Specifically over the foundation: 1. Influence Over Public Policy Criticism: The foundation’s massive financial power allows it to heavily influence public health, education, and agricultural policy, sometimes without democratic oversight.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Example: In education, their support for charter schools and Common Core standards drew criticism for pushing reforms without enough input from teachers and communities.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2. Pharmaceutical and Vaccine Influence Criticism: The foundation has been accused of favoring pharmaceutical-based solutions, sometimes at the expense of broader public health approaches.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Example: Critics argue that funding pharmaceutical companies during vaccine rollouts (especially during COVID-19) prioritized private profits over equitable global access.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                3. Corporate Ties Criticism: The foundation has invested in companies that contradict its stated goals (e.g., Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil), raising ethical questions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Example: Investments in fossil fuel companies were seen as inconsistent with health and development goals.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                4. Global South Criticism Criticism: Some argue that Gates Foundation programs in Africa and other regions can be top-down, lacking local input, and continuing a form of “philanthropic colonialism.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                5. Agricultural Interventions Criticism: Through the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the foundation promoted industrial farming and GMOs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Response: Some say this undermines traditional, sustainable farming practices and increases dependence on multinational corporations for seeds and fertilizers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                6. COVID-19 Vaccine Access Criticism: Gates opposed waiving IP rights for COVID-19 vaccines, which some argued delayed access in poorer countries.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Defense: The foundation claimed that maintaining IP was key to quality and speed, though many public health experts disagreed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He is an interesting and unique character who achieved much but don't polish those angel wings just yet.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • closewith 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    No billionaire will ever be a net positive to society. The wealth he accrued was literally stolen from the labour of millions of people. No token donations at the end of your life will ever remediate that situation.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • cjustin 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I often see this sentiment whenever a billionaire is in conversation, but I don't understand. Can you elaborate on how his wealth was "stolen" from people?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The way I see it, he's wealthy because he founded a wildly successful technology company by first creating something of value (MS-DOS). Microsoft has since grown to be one of the largest companies in the world, which hundreds of thousands of people voluntarily work for in exchange for a high salary, at least for engineers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • closewith 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In a capitalist society, to a rounding error, most people work out of necessity - to house, clothe, and feed their families. This creates an inherently unequal relationship between capital and labour which is exploited to accrue wealth in the hands of a very few people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        This is literal theft from the working class of the fruits of their labours.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • vinceguidry 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Billionaires become billionaires because of preferential treatment by governments, not out of any kind of merit. There are lots of better things the world could have had, Linux and the software commons would be much much much better if Microsoft hadn't hired all the best software engineers to make proprietary software and if the federal government hadn't coddled it and overlooked its monopolistic practices. The Internet would be a much better place without the likes of Google and Microsoft throwing their weight around.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          It's perfectly accurate to say that billionaires steal from the public, it's just that what's being stolen isn't easily quantifiable because it's effectively 'potential'. Think of the constant enshittification of everything and you get a sense for what's being stolen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • gambiting 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          >> The wealth he accrued was literally stolen from the labour of millions of people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          It's such a weird take I don't even know where to begin. Are you suggesting that all people who worked at Microsoft to make Windows and IE and all their other products had their labour "stolen" from them? If yes, can you expand on that?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          What do you do for a living? Do you perform some kind of a job that you get compensated for? If yes, do you also feel like you're being stolen from?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Nullabillity 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > It's such a weird take I don't even know where to begin. Are you suggesting that all people who worked at Microsoft to make Windows and IE and all their other products had their labour "stolen" from them? If yes, can you expand on that?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            We have a metric for the difference between what you charge for something and what you paid to provide it, it's called net income. Here's Microsoft's: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MSFT/microsoft/net...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Elsewhere, we tend to call that embezzlement.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • bombcar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I don't even think you need to go that far - nobody who is not at least somewhat sociopathic will even become a billionaire (Buffett, that includes you) - because they'll happily step off the rat race at 10 or 100 million.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • pphysch 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Anyone with a truly global perspective will notice multiple elephant-sizes omissions from Gates' statement. The premise that deep, systemic societal issues can be addressed directly while stepping on egg-shells around political topics is laughable. In 2025, you cannot separate starving kids and poverty alleviation from global politics and the world order.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            His #1 goal listed is almost offensive when you consider what is happening right now in May 2025 -- an utterly preventable scenario that he can't even mention lest it get "too political" and tar his image.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            In other words, it's perfectly valid to be skeptical of his motives, which seem primarily to be around elevating his personal brand and legacy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • JamesBarney 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              > No mom, child, or baby dies of a preventable cause

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              This goal might offend you but it doesn't offend me, and I don't think his motives (whether it's for legacy or personal brand) matter to me or the mother of a child who didn't shit itself to death because a vaccine for the rotavirus.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • pphysch 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I think you missed the point: Gates is implying an ongoing genocide (including famine) is either unpreventable or simply not worth mentioning.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • haarolean 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It's hard to take him seriously or consider him a good guy. While advocating for the environment, he doesn't hesitate to short tesla, an EV company (questionable nature aside).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              There are two possible reasons for this (the 'why' remains -- not enough money?):

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              - He's admitting he doesn't care about the environmental mission, just the returns

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              - He thinks tesla is a fraud, but isn't saying it publicly

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Either way, it's sus, so it's tough to trust him.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • altruios 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Well it seems obvious why anyone would (and morally should) short tesla... but let me break it down for those in the bleachers with two facts.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Musk 1: behind the presidential podium during the inauguration with the country watching twice did a salute of the enemy of the American people in WW2. And 2: controls the vast majority of tesla shares and is their current CEO.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It is patriotic to short tesla. And Bill Gates clearly cares about the future direction of this country.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • haarolean 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sure, but the shorting happened in 2022, when Musk wasn't clowning nearly as hard as now. Unless Gates has a time machine, this argument doesn't really stick.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • staticman2 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tomhow 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • lm28469 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Pffff, preventing disease and helping people get out of poverty are such bad goals, what about AGI ??? What about sending Katy Perry to Mars ??? Self driving cars ??? The metaverse ???

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Are Musk, Bezos and Zuck the only one brave enough to work on REAL and HARD problems ? /s

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • oceanhaiyang 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Windchaser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > So he’s going to selflessly donate it to himself to save himself from taxes? What a hero.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            You don't really "save yourself from taxes" by donating money to charity.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Option A: sell stock for $100, pay taxes of $20, spend $80 on yourself Option B: donate stock of $100 to charity, and spend $0 on yourself

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Which of these options leaves Gates with more money in his pocket to spend on himself?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Giving money away doesn't save you from taxes on your income; you just forego the income entirely. The money is gone. It's no longer yours. Why would you be paying taxes on it?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • ghaff 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              >You don't really "save yourself from taxes" by donating money to charity.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              That's not really true if you have sufficiently appreciated assets and are in a high tax bracket. You can donate those appreciated assets and collect an annuity from some percentage of the face value donation and basically be shielded from any capital gains.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              See e.g. https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/guidance/philanthropy/cha...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I'm sure there are other mechanisms as well.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • Windchaser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I mean, maybe? But long-term capital gains are a low tax bracket, so the “in a high tax bracket” part doesn’t apply.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I’m curious what portion of his wealth is even taxable. Remember that Bush Jr did a “capital gains forgiveness” year with 0% long term gains rate. I expect many many many of the wealthy sold and then rebought all their major assets that year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • philomath_mn 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The exact same logic applies to any deductible expense, and yet people think they can buy a business vehicle "for free" because it is deductible.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                IDK why this is so hard to understand.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • swiftcoder 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  People get confused between deductions and credits, mostly?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • earlyriser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Gates has been advocating for higher taxes to people like him for a while.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • lagniappe 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Look at outcomes, not words and ambitions.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Windchaser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    >Look at outcomes, not words and ambitions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Does Gates have the power to change tax code? "Look at outcomes" makes more sense when it's something you have at least a moderate amount of control over.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • lotsofpulp 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      There is nothing inconsistent about wanting a society’s tax structure to change, but also not sacrificing yourself (which the donations kind of are).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I want X rules, but I will play by whatever rules exist at the time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • I-M-S 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It's possible this is not Gates' preferred outcome
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • esafak 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          What control does he have over that outcome that he has not already exercised?
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • eliaspro 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            If he'd be serious about it, he'd spend 0.01% of his fortune to buy politicians (he just has to bid more than the fossil industry etc) and have them change the tax code.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • otteromkram 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Is anyone stopping him, et al, from just paying more? There's an option for that on US tax forms (though I'm guessing tax returns for billionaires are a little more complex than what a Form 1040 can handle).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • alabastervlog 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It's not hypocritical to advocate for everyone like you to pay higher taxes, while not unilaterally paying higher taxes in the meantime.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • 9283409232 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  People suggest this often whenever a rich person says they should pay more taxes but unless I can specifically say I want my extra taxes to go to a specific government agency or office, I have no idea why I would do this. Just so Boeing can get a larger contract with my extra taxes? At that point I would just donate directly to causes that support what I want instead of dealing with the middle man.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Windchaser 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I would expect that he wants all billionaires to pay more taxes, not only himself.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • jedberg 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      > Though I'm guessing tax returns for billionaires are a little more complex than what a Form 1040 can handle

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Even billionaires file a 1040. They just file a whole lot of other forms with it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      But at the end of the day, it all rolls up to the same 1040 that you and I use. :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • wing-_-nuts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        If I were him I wouldn't, for fear it would go to our 1T/yr defense budget, or perhaps some narcissists 'birthday parade'
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • keernan 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          >Though I'm guessing tax returns for billionaires are a little more complex than what a Form 1040 can handle

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          When it comes to wealth, the world is divided into two basic groups: 1. Those with sufficient wealth that they and their family members will never need to hold a job in order to earn an income to survive.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          2. Everyone else who must earn an income to survive.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          It is important to understand that, in the United States, Group One people only pay taxes because they invest their money. They have enough money right now (100 million or more) that they could simply put the money in a bank vault and rely upon those funds for the rest of their lives without the need to even file tax returns.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          They don't do that because they want more wealth. They want to invest their wealth such that it doubles every 10 years or so. And so they incur taxes to the extent their investments produce dividends or if they sell some stock for the purpose of investing the proceeds into a different investment. Of course, they only do this because they are convinced the new investment will return a much higher rate then the investment they are moving out of - after taxes. Otherwise, they wouldn't change investments.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Group Two has no choice in the matter. They do not have sufficient wealth to not work. So they work and earn wages which is always taxed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Group One hold power and they essentially hold a veto over laws they are absolutely opposed to. Why do you think the US Government obtains its funds via a tax on income? Group One does not have income and thus contributes nothing to the cost of running the government - unless, as I've already addressed, they DECIDE for themselves that it is worthwhile to invest their money - and even then they only get taxed when they switch investments (or dividends). But they are not being taxed because they must work.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          That is why it is laughable for Trump and the Republicans to be "debating" whether or not to tax the rich. But do not believe for one second that taxing the rich is the same thing as taxing the wealthy. The rich are Group Two people who earn very high wages. But the taxes being discussed are of no real interest or concern to Group One people.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • melling 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The interest alone on the US debt is $1 trillion a year. He’s giving away $200 billion in the same time the US will spend $20 trillion in interest.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • wing-_-nuts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You can only write off ~ 67% of your income in through charitable deductions IIRC. Of course, I suppose if donating shares of appreciated stock that doesn't quite apply the same way.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • giantg2 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Yeah, it would be going through stocks.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • twodave 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Not “to” but “through”. What am I missing?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • bobxmax 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • I-M-S 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                People are cynical for a reason
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • bobxmax 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Yes, because it's a very convenient way to feel better than other people when you're insecure about your own accomplishments.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • beyondCritics 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • RajT88 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He might say he did it, and just pretend. Probably hire a bot army to spread it further.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He'd say he does, and I'm sure he and all the other rich people use the philanthropy tax loophole to avoid paying much of it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • gtirloni 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Being the person that understands more about charity than anyone else, nobody has donated more than him in the history of charity but the radical left doesn't want you to know this. /s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • beyondCritics 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I am not sure this is serious though ...
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • hiuyty 2 months ago
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • gwern 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Thank you, ChatGPT, but these are all obvious questions to ask, and more valuable would be some answers.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Lalabadie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I don't think I've read it written directly in this thread yet, but philanthropy ideally exists to fix gaps that public services and initiatives don't address.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It is a way of acting and holding public power outside of democratic accountability. I'm with Gates' implicit vision here, that the end-goal is for philanthropic initiatives towards a given problem to eventually not be needed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Philanthropy is often used as a way to curry public (and government) gratitude for a rich person who deigned to direct crumbs of their wealth towards the public, which in turn one uses to amass or solidify power – again, outside of democratic structures.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            By demanding that matters of public welfare be properly handled by the state, shift power back to democratic processes. As a bonus, government has an incentive to actually address issues. Performative philanthropy thrives on the continued existence of the problems they claim to address.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • dematz 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Does OpenAI deliberately splatter em dashes everywhere by default to give us false confidence for how easy it is to detect AI text?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • kcatskcolbdi 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              > We now understand the essential role nutrition—and especially the gut microbiome—plays in not only helping kids survive but thrive.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Glad we finally know now that babies need nutrition.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • rswail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                which part of "not only" and "but thrive" weren't relevant to his point?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                We've always known that babies need nutrition, but knowledge of the role of the gut microbiome, how to develop it and ensure it is healthy is relatively new.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • kcatskcolbdi 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  We have known well before the gates foundation descended their giant pile of gold coin that nutrition was required for children to thrive.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • rswail 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Again, you missed the point about the knowledge about the function of the gut biome in maintaining health.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • ferguess_k 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I actually do believe that he genuinely wants to give all of his money to some purposes. I mean money is just a number to him now. You definitely don't want to die with a huge pile of assets left behind.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It's just that I might not agree with the purposes he chose. But hey, he is the boss, he can do whatever he wants.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • justanotheratom 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Use to admire Gates, and good on him for doing what he is doing.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  For me now, this statement by Larry Page resonates better:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “You know, if I were to get hit by a bus today, I should leave all of it to Elon Musk.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • cruffle_duffle 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    It’s too bad this guy turned into one of the bigger fear mongers during Covid times. He was one of the main pushers of the whole “New Normal” narrative and his doomsday prognostications did significant damage to society and generally went completely against every value he claimed to have.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    But hey, people like him got a free pass to spit whatever nonsense came out of their mouth as long as it was pro-doom. Good news was never allowed and Gates was great at stirring up fear, panic and bad news.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • bryanlarsen 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      It's 1999 over again. The whole world was panicking that all the computers would blow up over the Y2K problem. Which mostly didn't happen because we spent billions fixing the problem. Were the doomsayers wrong?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • bigstrat2003 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        > Were the doomsayers wrong?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        They certainly were, but you've elided the reason why. The doomsayers were predicting that we would have complete civilization collapse when the year rolled over to 2000. Vast quantities of wealth erased by bank computer errors, planes falling from the sky and killing thousands upon thousands, etc. Such extreme scenarios were never plausible. The doomsayers were wrong because there was a real problem and it did get fixed, but that problem would never have amounted to the apocalyptic event they said it was going to.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • revskill 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The website is fast, Gates knows how to make a website !
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • akudha 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Good on him for giving away his fortune.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Anyone else feeling uneasy that society is increasingly dependent on a handful of ultra wealthy people's generosity for investment in certain good initiatives? We live in a time where there are individuals who have more money than many small countries, governments are cutting funding for good programs while individuals are stepping in to help. What is the point of living in a democracy if big investments depend on the mood of some billionaire?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • eirikbakke 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The government has a fixed pie to allocate to various projects. Businesses, by contrast, can create more pie, from labor and raw materials that cost less than the value of the final product. So funding charitable causes with money earned from honest business is a win-win for society.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But then we can debate if Microsoft made their money honestly or not. If Microsoft exploited their monopoly, then perhaps Bill Gates stole from the rich to give to the poor...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • SoftTalker 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            He's almost 70. Pretty optimistic of him to think he's still got 20 years.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • dexwiz 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              High 80s is doable with the best care in the world and no chronic health issues.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ghssds 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Look at me! Look at me! I give money! Look at me while I'm doing it!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • adamc 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It's a noble goal.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              But the track record of the rich does not inspire confidence that this is the route our society should take in reclaiming these assets.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • seeknotfind 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "virtually" wonder why it needs to be qualified like this.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • gtirloni 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  "all his wealth" would mean ALL of his wealth, which is unrealistic.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Saying "99.999%" of my wealth invites critics later on when he donates "99.98%".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Substitute "virtually" by "almost" and it's the same. It's just style.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • netsharc 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Because keyboard-warrior pedants will moan if he bought himself a $200K Porsche (0.0001% of that $200B) or even just a dinner for his kids...
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • geodel 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I can totally see here the headline "While millions sleep hungry in Asia and Africa Bill Gates throws away uneaten fries after dinner at a local restaurant like its nothing"
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • bdcravens 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Because there will probably be enough left at the end that for most would be wealthy beyond their richest dreams.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • zellyn 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It's hard to get by with only 1.08 billion dollars…

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Not that I think giving away most of his money isn't admirable. But I think he'll still qualify for "he died rich".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 9rx 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Because "20 years to give away all my wealth" would be misleading? He plans to retain some of his wealth.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Not to mention it's pretty difficult to give away all money. Some of it will need to pay for the administration of programs in existence after these 20 years, accountants, and of course himself - if he's still alive by then.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • esafak 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Maybe because he promised his kids a few million, or fail to give it away on his terms, and he doesn't want to be nagged about it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • MagicMoonlight 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          How brave, giving all your money away by the time you will die. When you’ve got absolutely no skin in the game.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Why not just do it now? Why did you act so evil for decades? You don’t just get to “be good” now

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Levitz 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I can go on and on on how Bill Gates has done immense damage to software freedom etc and that is precisely the reason I will very much allow him to "be good" now.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Doesn't fix what he has already done, totally, but not only is he away from that now, he is doing stuff I actually respect. Absolute best case scenario.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ipunchghosts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            How can u get some of this funding to do fundamental AI research?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • rswail 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Why do you think something that is getting extensive investment from private sources needs philanthropy?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Also, billg has laid out the goals of his Foundation and what they aspire to achieve. Which one of those aspirations do you think should be replaced with "fundamental AI research"?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                A lot of the Foundation money goes on disease research and preventative and curative vaccine and medicine development. All of those areas are already being transformed by AI as a tool, and a lot of that development happens as a result of philanthropic, government, and private investment.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • ipunchghosts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  AI as defined today is brittle. I am interested in understanding the fundamentals of learning so that systems can be learn as quickly as humans and have thier same level of robustness. Such a breakthrough would have a worldwide impact.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  As far as I can tell, very few places are looking into this topic area. Jeff Hawkins group is one of the few places. I would like to get involved as this area is my passion but I can't connected to funding to do so.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • rswail 1 month ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Sure, worthy of investment, not necessarily philanthropy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Not part of the Gates Foundation mandate.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    As for your personal interest, have you explored the availability of university research positions and/or grants?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Your lack of funding is not philanthropy's problem to solve.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Cthulhu_ 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  AI is already heavily funded / invested in by many companies, how much more is needed?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • lknuth 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Aren't there more important issues than tossing more money into that particular furnace? Touch some grass man.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • tootie 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Gates is betting very heavily on AI and thinks it will greatly improve health outcomes. Both for medical research and even primary care. You may not like it, but I'm sure he is offering grants for AI research. Not necessarily for training models, but for finding effective ways to apply models to achieve the foundation's goals. So, it's not a stupid question to ask at all.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • ipunchghosts 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        AI as defined today is brittle. I am interested in understanding the fundamentals of learning so that systems can be learn as quickly as humans and have thier same level of robustness. Such a breakthrough would have a worldwide impact.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • rvnx 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    It could have an unintended effect.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Injecting this money may create inflation and accidentally increase poverty as more money becomes freely available and circulating.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Could be in some way better to just destroy it ?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • guywithahat 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      While I agree giving away money can have negative secondary effects, destroying the money makes no sense and is positively moronic. He should just give it to his kids if he doesn't know what to do with it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • rvnx 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It’s like during the coronavirus, more money was given to people without related increase in real-world generated value: result, prices increase and people who had savings can now do less with them.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • burkaman 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I don't think promises like this should be considered news. Take a look at the list of people who have signed Gates' own Giving Pledge and ask yourself if making the pledge changed their behavior at all: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Invictus0 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Historically, it's pretty typical that rich people don't give their money away until their death, and the Pledge itself is not a statement of intent to give the money away during their life.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • bombcar 2 months ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Giving during your lifetime is a much, much better way of ensuring that it does what you want. It is very hard to control things from the grave, as someone administers it and can do what they want, as long as they follow the letter.