In a billionaire showdown no one saw coming, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates accused Elon Musk of killing children, a claim that launched the SpaceX boss into a stratospheric frenzy.
Now, the world is watching as two of the planet’s biggest tech titans turn up the heat in a public feud…
Bill Gates accusations
On May 8, Bill Gates revealed his plan to give away his entire $200 billion fortune by 2045, focusing on lifting the world’s poorest communities out of poverty.
“By deciding to spend all this money in the next 20 years, we can get a lot more done,” Gates told CBS about saving “tens of millions of lives” through the Gates Foundation.
According to the 69-year-old, who co-founded Microsoft in 1975, his net worth – currently valued $108 billion – “will drop 99% over the next 20 years.”
In a blog post, Gates explains his decision to donate “virtually all” of his fortunes was inspired Andrew Carnegie’s 1889 essay, “The Gospel of Wealth.”
“It makes the case that the wealthy have a responsibility to return their resources to society,” the ambitious philanthropist writes on May 8. “Carnegie argues that ‘the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.’” He adds, “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.”
Challenges
Through accelerated giving, Gates shares that he hopes to “put the world on a path to ending preventable deaths of moms and babies and lifting millions of people out of poverty. I believe we can leave the next generation better off and better prepared to fight the next set of challenges.”
But he’s concerned that efforts made by the Gates Foundation will be thwarted by major government moves that slashed funding and support to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – the organization responsible for fighting global hunger and disease.
USAID dismantled
In February, USAID was rapidly dismantled by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and more than “90% of USAID’s contracts for humanitarian and development work around the world” were terminated, according to AP.
Their actions, the news source explains, “slashed $60 billion in assistance overseas and upended decades of U.S. policy that foreign aid helps American interests abroad by stabilizing other countries and building alliances.”
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Despite the devastating consequences for millions of people worldwide, Musk celebrated his success by sharing a boastful tweet about “feeding USAID into the woodchipper.”
Child killer
According to Gates, those cuts could mean millions of children losing access to food, clean water, and life-saving medical care. And in his words, there’s one man to blame.
“The number of deaths will start going up for the first time…it’s going to be millions more deaths because of the resources,” Gates said in a May 8 interview with Reuters.
“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates added, referring to Musk, who as the richest man, has an estimated net worth of $345 billion.
It didn’t take long for the Tesla CEO to catch wind of Gates’ not-so-subtle attack.
“Gates is a huge liar,” Musk tweeted on the same day that his fellow tech giant called him a child killer, without actually naming him.
The gloves are officially off.
Are you Team Gates, fighting poverty through donations and government partnerships?
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