Melinda French Gates has criticized newly wealthy individuals for using their influence as a “megaphone” rather than engaging in true philanthropy.
In an interview with The New York Times, the ex-wife of Bill Gates mentioned Tesla CEO Elon Musk, PayPal founder Peter Thiel, Twitter founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey, and American hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, asserting that they have not contributed enough to be considered philanthropists.
“The people you just named have not been very philanthropic yet. They use their voice and they use their megaphones, but I would not call those men philanthropists,” she stated. “Go look at their records of actually giving money to society. It is not big. Those are non-philanthropic, in my opinion.”
She further noted that the philanthropic efforts of her ex-husband and Warren Buffet stand in stark contrast to those of the “super wealthy” of recent times. “We have some wealthy people who choose to give the money back and some who don’t,” she said.
The former co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also dismissed Musk’s comments on her political activism as “silly.”
“I knew I had to speak out in favor of women’s rights, and if there was a candidate who is against women’s rights and says terrible things about women, there is no way I could vote for that person,” Gates said.
Earlier, Musk had criticized her endorsement of Joe Biden for the upcoming elections, calling it the downfall of Western civilization.
Despite stepping down as co-chair of the Gates Foundation, the 59-year-old philanthropist remains committed to “people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including on reproductive rights in the United States.”
