Elon Musk has been the target of harsh criticism from Bill Gates, who has called the billionaire’s position in a government agency “killing” children.
One hundred days after Donald Trump took office on January 20 of this year, the picture in the United States and around the world has changed significantly.
It is difficult to choose the most contentious of the many executive orders and decisions that have come out of the White House, but they have all had a significant impact on the nation and the world.
But Trump’s choice of his billionaire “First Buddy,” Elon Musk, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in order to reduce the federal workforce and save money is undoubtedly on par with other billionaires, including Gates.
The philanthropist, however, is not particularly happy with Musk’s cost-cutting measures under DOGE and accuses him of “killing the world’s poorest children.”
In recent months, DOGE has seen the reduction of dozens of departments and agencies, especially in foreign aid programs like the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which Musk declared to be a “criminal organisation” and that it was “time for it to die” back in February.
With almost 10,000 employees, USAID was the largest humanitarian aid contributor globally, spending more than $40 million in fiscal year 2023.
However, the richest man in the world said that it would be shut down because he considered it as a waste of federal monies.
“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it,” Musk said at the time. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing.”
Gates mostly criticises this area, calling the efforts to reduce US growth abroad foolish.
Speaking to the Financial Times, the Microsoft co-founder said, “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.”
He continued by saying that countries suddenly bereft of the resource could experience a rise in diseases like measles, HIV, and polio, while life-saving medications and food supplies have been expiring in warehouses as a result of the drastic reduction.
Gates continued by accusing Musk of rescinding funding for a hospital in Gaza that helps mothers avoid HIV transmission to their unborn children on the pretext that the US was giving condoms to Hamas in the area.
“I’d love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money,” he said.
The remarks are made after a previous altercation between Musk and the 69-year-old, who is also a billionaire.
Along with hundreds of other billionaires, the Tesla CEO joined the Giving Pledge in 2012, promising to donate at least half of their fortune. However, Musk called the program “bulls***” when he spoke to Gates about it.
Additionally, Gates intends to spend nearly all of his riches in the ensuing decades before permanently dissolving the Gates Foundation in 2045.
In an effort to eradicate diseases through vaccines, maternal and child health, and HIV cure, he announced intentions to invest $200 billion in global health, development, and education.
But he said that his own attempts pale in comparison to the $44 billion deficit caused by USAID’s cuts last year alone.
Still, in a letter outlining his decision, Gates said, “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. There are too many urgent problems to solve.”
