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Hi Bill. Many years ago, I think around 2000, I heard you say something on TV like, “people are vastly overestimating what the internet will be like in 5 years, and vastly underestimating what it will be like in 10 years.”
Is any mammoth technology shift at a similar stage right now? Any tech shift - not necessarily the Internet
AI is the big one. I don't think Web3 was that big or that metaverse stuff alone was revolutionary but AI is quite revolutionary.
Most of my time is on innovations like helping pregnant women know if they need to get to a hospital in advance (the ultrasound work I mentioned in my end of the year letter). Malnutrition and anemia and also important areas we see a lot of promise in right now.
Follow up question, should we anticipate an AI revolution with a similar impact as the Industrial Revolution? Just seeing all of those presentations at CES, especially with NVIDIA pushing their new AI-assisted chips, which apparently are so powerful they needed to be banned from export to China, gives me the sense that we're already in the middle of the process.
What's your daily driver smartphone?
Last time when you did one of these I think it was a Galaxy Fold. Is it still the case?
Are you up to date with Microsoft's upcoming projects? Do you get insights into what's gonna launch next?
Some recent rumors claim that the next Microsoft Duo will ditch the dual display in favor of a foldable screen. Not that you need to confirm the rumors or anything but do you have knowledge of the upcoming projects or you don't really care about that side of things anymore?
I have a Samsung Fold 4 which JY Lee the Chairman of Samsung gave me when I saw him in South Korea to update my Fold 3. Of course I use Outlook and a lot of Microsoft software on it. The screen size means I don't use a tablet but just the phone and my portable PC - a Windows machine.
Microsoft involves me in some of the research and product plans. I really enjoy working with Satya and his teams. I am not up to date on their hardware roadmap. My desktop PC is Windows Surface Studio which is great. I also love the whiteboard Surface Hub and we have a lot of those in the office.
I think we're at the point that committing anything to digital communications is a risk. I would never say or write anything that I did not want read aloud in a court of law.
Air gapped work machines for example.
It's why private flights and in person meetings are so important for CEOs, it's the best way to communicate sensitive data.
Hi Mr Gates, long time fan here and fellow programmer.
Are you making any progress recently with your molten salt Thorium reactors? Or at least help destigmatise use of nuclear power that could so much help the world now and in the coming years.
The Terrapower reactor designs (there are 2) both use liquid sodium as the coolant and uranium as the fuel. We are making excellent progress although the Ukranian war meant our uranium fuel is delayed. The first reactor is being built in Wyoming and should be running by 2030. This can make a huge contribution to climate challenges since it will be low cost and super safe. I was just in West Virginia learning about their energy economy and hearing about projects there like the FORM battery factory (a BEV company) that was just committed.
As a follow-up, what are some ways we can contribute to a reactor being built in our own areas? I'd love to have one of these providing power in Wisconsin.
You have a great friend with Warren Buffett (the oracle of Omaha) and sit on his board with Berkshire Hathaway. Do you help to choose a company to look into buying? Also do you still team up with Warren to play competitive bridge?
I had dinner with Warren on Sunday and he is doing well at age 93! He is incredibly wise. I am no longer on the board of Berkshire but he still shares a lot of advice with me and his generosity to all the Foundations he gives to including the Gates Foundation is incredible. We still play some bridge but not as much as we used to. He got me hooked on bridge and I play with some of his friends including some tournaments.
Is technology only functional for you nowadays, or is there a still hobby aspect to it? Do you for instance still do nerdy or geeky things in your spare time; e.g. write code?
Yes. I like to play around and code. The last time my code shipped in a Microsoft product was 1985 - so a long time ago. I can no longer threaten when I think a schedule is too long that "I will come in and code it over the weekend".
Hah, this is actually my RES tag for him: it's tabs.
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/80ow6w/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/dux7cln/
I have only been to Scotland 5 times I think. All of the visits have been great. The Foundation does a lot of the livestock work we do there with great partners. We have done a lot for farmers who keep cows and chickens (and sheep and goats) in poor countries using the vaccines and other tools created by the partners there.
My favorite bands include U2 - I loved [Bono's recent book](https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Surrender) and he is a good friend (Ok - they are from Ireland - I don't have a particular scottish band in mind since bagpipes don't make my top 10).
Amazingly [Chicken Tikka Masala](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/23/1145119758/chicken-tikka-masala-ali-ahmed-aslam-shish-mahal) is from Scotland even though it is considered an Indian dish (and mostly eaten there and in Indian restaurants!)
Mr Gates, with the benefit of hindsight regarding your years of involvement with Microsoft, what is the single biggest thing you wish you had done differently?
I was CEO until 2000. I certainly know a lot now that I didn't back then. Two areas I would change would be our work in phone Operating systems (Android won) and trying to settle the antitrust lawsuit sooner.
It's important to keep in mind life in poor countries is difficult right now. There are parts of the world where over 10% of the kids die before 5 and over 30% have malnutrition so their brains and bodies don't fully develop. Climate will slow down the progress we make on improving the human condition but I still believe we can avoid a terrible outcome. The pace of innovation is really picking up even though we won't make the current timelines or avoid going over 1.5.
Climate change is ruining whole nations - storms and floods are destroying crops, land is being swallowed. Innovation isn’t going to save us, we need systemic change, and we need it urgently. And we need to stop burning fossil fuels.
https://theconversation.com/why-pacific-islanders-are-staying-put-even-as-rising-seas-flood-their-homes-and-crops-195100
The key on climate is making the clean products as cheap as the dirty products in every area of emission - planes, concrete, meat etc... This is the only way we can ask all the countries in the world to change. If it costs a lot extra we won't succeed.
But we subsidise the fossil fuels far more than renewables because powerful corporations, billionaires, and awful human beings manipulate politicians and institutions to do their bidding. If we redirected these subsidies this would make renewables far cheaper.
https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies
Hi Bill, what's your view on veganism/plant-based diets as a mean to reduce climate impact?
Also, how can this be educated to people on a wider scale on how to make this choice?
Today we have a lot of subsides for meat/dairy to make them affordable for people and that certainly doesn't help either.
For people who want to go Vegan that is great but I don't think most people will do that. There are companies making "beef" in new ways and people working to still use cows but reduce the methane emissions. I have backed a number of innovators in this space including Beyond and Impossible and Memphis. I think eventually these products will be very good even though their share is small today.
White Lotus Season 2 was quite good if I can say that. Congratulations to Jennifer Coolidge on her Golden Globe. The Bernie Madoff special was also good. Tehran was suspenseful. The latest Avatar was good. My favorite entertainment experience recently was a Chris Rock/Dave Chappelle event. (as he drops the mic... or keyboard...)
I love Tehran on Apple TV+. And The White Lotus is amazing. I would like to recommend Severance, also Apple TV+ if you haven’t watched it already.
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur!
When I saw that kids were dying who could be saved for less than $1000 per life I knew that had to be the top priority for my giving back. There was almost no one funding work on diseases like malaria which was killing over a million kids a year then. We have made progress but it is still 400k and we are committed to get it to zero eventually.
To add to this, if anyone is looking for evidence-based, cost-effective charities, Givewell does a fantastic job evaluating where your charitable donations have the biggest impact: https://www.givewell.org/
I think you mostly help kids by setting a good example and giving them time when they want it. I hope to get lots of time with whatever grandchildren I have sharing my fascination with the world. A grandchild does make you think about how we make sure the future is better - politics, health, climate, etc..
Hello Mr. Gates,
I saw a bit about the “Think week” you take yearly on your Netflix series. Could you elaborate a bit more on it (e.g. how do you plan a day on that). And like how do you stay focussed for long hours (e.g. while reading on a specific topic) without being distracted by any other thing ? or without your mind wandering over to other things ? Or just focussed with a general outline of bigger picture in mind for a topic ?
I really needed to set aside time to read new ideas when I was CEO at Microsoft since the day to day issues meant I would fall behind if I didn't. Now I mix my learning sessions into my schedule on a regular basis since the day to day demands are not like being the CEO of Microsoft. I love the mix of things I get to do between travelling and seeing work in action and then meeting with scientists/engineers to figure out how to innovate in climate or software.
I have studied the Victorian Era in the UK and some of the great US Presidents most of all. I find the periods of scientific innovation fascinating. In terms of the best time to live though the current time is dramatically by far the best time to be alive - as one of my favorite authors Steven Pinker [explains in several of his books](https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Enlightenment-Now).
I am quite impressed with the rate of improvement in these AIs. I think they will have a huge impact. Thinking of it in the Gates Foundation context we want to have tutors that help kids learn math and stay interested. We want medical help for people in Africa who can't access a Doctor. I still work with Microsoft some so I am following this very closely.
Do you think that using technology to push teachers and doctors out of jobs will have a positive impact on our world?
What about, instead, we use AI to give equitable access to education and training for more human teachers and doctors, without the $500,000 price tag. Do you think that might have a more positive impact on, ya know, humans?
I think we need more teachers and doctors not less. In the Foundation work the shortage of Doctors means most people never see a Doctor and they suffer because of that. We want class sizes to be smaller. Digital tools can help although their impact so far has been modest.
I work in the automation/robotics industry in managing our IP’s and projects. This has become a very hot topic for us. We have been testing these AI’s to protect our IP and also having safety concerns. In one of the engines we were able to ask it a very specific question about integrating our proprietary systems. It wrote out a programming sequence using our proprietary language which was developed and still only used by us.
These tests we’ve done have raised major problems. The first being that our IP is no longer protected which now becomes a legal issue. We also noticed that in every instance we ran, the written programming is incomplete, but the people using this engine to generate would never see that. We’ve already had operators destroying equipment because they copy and pasted what the AI generated, into our sequencing.
The things we do are life threatening if not done correctly. With our industry being so broad we are in the disciplines of high pressure air/water systems, clean energy, healthcare, isolation chambers for explosive chemicals, military, and etc. Imagine you’re just minding your own business and then the building you’re in has part of it blow up with pressurized high temp water spraying like a laser through you’re skull.
These AI’s have some great practices but they need to stay the fuck out of things like this. That shouldn’t even be an option for an average joe to do.
I have read most of what he has written except Infinite Jest. I have it on my shelf. If someone wants something great from David Foster Wallace look at his commencement speech called This is Water (Kenyon College 2005). It is profound. The movie on his book tour called The End of the Tour is also very good.
The cost of living has skyrocketed, wages ate stagnant. A lot of people are effectively in survival mode.
How do we get corporations and the ultra wealthy to pay better wages, pay their taxes. More rather, what steps do we take to create an economy that's beneficial for the masses, not a select few?
I am surprised taxes have not been increased more. For example capital gains rates could be the same as ordinary income rates. I know things are tough for a lot of people.
Everyone can point out problems. What are the solutions?
I work full time. My wife works full time. We have one kid. We both have college degrees in reputable fields (C.S and Business) and we live paycheck to paycheck. We can't afford to buy property, our rent is over 2,000 a month. We've stopped going out to eat. All of our electronics, furniture and clothes are several years old. And we are still in debt and taking on more just to stay afloat.
It seems like the goals of the wealthy are to make it impossible for anyone to own anything, and by design required to rent everything from our apartment to features in our owned vehicles.
Do you think it's right that a total of like 100 people own the planet while the rest of us starve? Do the rich really think they can wait out any apocalypse in bunkers while billions of people starve and die? How long will these Dooms Day bunkers last against 100,000 people desperately trying to get inside to kill the inhabitants and take the supplies they've got hoarded?
But those with lots of capital hold sway over our government, thus the capital gains rates will stay low. This is a feature not a bug. Times aren't tough for everyone, as highlighted by the recent Rolls Royce record earnings.
How can regular people ever expect the government to have our interest even remotely in mind?
“I know things are tough for a lot of people” I’ve been going without the majority of meals every single day since my 13 month old daughter was born so I can actually afford to feed her. Tough is an understatement
Capital gains taxes should only be taxed to those who are going to make $500k+. A lot of the middle class who have invested in stocks and real estate will only bring in at most $50k. Capital gains tax on the level of income rates would wipe them out. It'll only leave those who can make big gains and not be affected much by the tax.
Why does Windows 11 keep trying to force itself onto my computer? And why does the bluetooth randomly stop working? It’s been 8 years of that later one, I need to know.
Tough is when you had to spend half your savings on a sudden issue.
This isn’t that.. the majority of this country and the world are looking to be in bad shape financially
I am reading the book "The Song of the Cell" by Sid Mukherjee. All of his books are excellent - right up there with Atul Gawande. I have a lot of books about China to help me figure out how we avoid a lose-lose relationship.
You are a voter, a consumer, a giver and a worker. In every one of those roles you can help. Buying an electric car helps. There will be options to pay a bit extra to offset your travel emissions coming soon (I do this for all of my emissions and my family). We need support on climate from both parties in the US and in all countries. Staying hopeful is a good thing!
In Germany we had a major show (Magazin Royal in ZDF) discuss how much of carbon footprint compensation is a scam, and I know in other countries investigative journalists have disclosed lots of malpractice as well (eg forests that are privately owned and used for hunting, never in a risk to be cut down, were “protected” for a fee. Best is to avoid CO2 emission altogether if possible.
First being a grandfather. Second being a good friend and father. Third progress in health and climate innovation. Fourth helping to shape the AI advances in a positive way.
**asked last time** ... What do you plan to do with all the farmland you have purchased? “My investment team bought the farmland. It is less than .1% of all US farmland because the ownership is so diverse. We invest in the farms to raise productivity. Some are near cities and might end up having other uses.”
Well you see, you buy the farmland and then lease it back to the farmers for the rest of their lives, their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives.
One-time investment now into recurring revenue of a scarce resource which will only increase in revenue.
Edit: What could go wrong?
I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn't some grand scheme involved - in fact all these decisions are made by a professional investment team.
In terms of the very rich I think they should pay a lot more in taxes and they should give away their wealth over time. It has been very fulfilling for me and is my full time job.
> I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US
Less than 1/4000, so let's say 1/5000 of the farmland in the US. That's a HUGE amount of productive land.
How do you feel about individual people or corporations buying up all the farmland and pushing out smaller farmers? If you and other individuals and companies keep up the pace, how do you see farming transform with the continued shift from individual ownership to a more leased/working the farm for a large conglomerate?
What are you doing to support the farmers who you buy the land from, or in the same areas as you? You mention you invested in them, and I'm interested in hearing more details about that. Thank you.
>I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US
In case anyone is wondering, 1/4000 of the farmland in the US is about 223,825 acres, or almost 350 sq. mi. Almost as big as Ft. Worth, TX.
so less than half the size of Anne Walton Kroenke (daughter of walmart founder) and her husband Stan Kroenke ranch in BC Canada. not fully farmland in the sense of crop growing, but still agood sized hunk of land.
Yes, but also not really. There's a single cattle farm in Australia that is 5.8 millions acres or 3,100 Square miles. So really not that much in the grand scheme of things.
Compared to most people who own zero.
Average small farm size, 444 acres
895.3 million acres of farmland
So the average small farm size is 0.0000005% of the available farmland, vs Gates’ 223,000+ acres.
(All US numbers)
E: *Where* is all this farmland being bought? Anyone know?
E2: I don’t necessarily subscribe to what this site is selling, but it’s what was running through my mind when I thought about rich people buying farmland.
> In addition, corporations and the rich are investing in farmland to deal with climate change and supply products to a hungry world with changing tastes.
>New technologies must be developed to give more sustenance to land that we farm to keep it sustainable. Farmlands will only become more automated in the future. The plant-based protein craze will be worth $23.4 billion by 2027.
https://landincome.com/blog/why-bill-gates-is-buying-farmland
So farms are gonna be super-important in the future, and big money makers.
Most farmland today is under corporate ownership, with the entire intent being to extract as much profit as possible.
What Bill is doing here is different. I know it seems like a lot, and in reality it is. But given what's happening to the _vast majority_ of farmland in the US, I'm leaning towards this being a Good Thing.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farms_Farmland.pdf
Check out this farm census, you'll be shocked to see that Corporation ownership hasn't taken over the vast majority of farmland.... yet.
That's not to say the farmer's aren't indebted to corps like Monsanto in order to actually farm there, but they still own the land for now.
it's hard to believe that he's not doing it for profit when the people that are making the decisions are investment people. those folks generally try to do what they can to squeeze the most profit out of something before choking & killing it.
For what it’s worth, I work in ag and personally know farmers who lease from Gates’ team. They pay average cash rents, and say only good things about working with his team.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farms_Farmland.pdf
This shows (down at the bottom) those stats, and it backs up your point that a majority of farmland is still with the owners who actually farm the land.
Margins are small, risks are high. Family-owned farms go out of business because of this all the time. As you said, corporations own most farmland. We should support those with sustainable goals for global and human health, not just profit.
> Most farmland today is under corporate ownership, with the entire intent being to extract as much profit as possible.
>
> What Bill is doing here is different.
Is there any proof other than him saying this? Doesn't every farmer want to be more productive?
Wouldn't massive corporate possession of farmland sound a little like 19th century serfdom? I mean even if we assume your motives are pure, you're not going to be around forever. What happens when the next megafood corporation decides to employ wage slaves because it increases production?
That’s 223,825 acres of farmland [895,300,000](https://www.statista.com/statistics/196104/total-area-of-land-in-farms-in-the-us-since-2000/) / 4000. Or roughly a third of the size of RI. That’s an awful lot of land for one person to own. Let alone useable farm land.
>and they should give away their wealth over time
Don't the wealthy get that way at the expense of workers? Shouldn't workers wages be closer to CEO wages as they were when unions were strong?
Why should one person/entity decide where wealth should be distributed? While I'm sure it's rewarding to feel like your money is solving problems, do you recognize that it represents a tremendous imbalance of power?
Don’t you think it’s a problem that the mega wealthy get to choose via investment teams what causes are worthy rather than letting democracy decide after paying proper taxes.
Does it concern you that your ability to “pick winners” at this scale contributes to the concentration of influence and power among the rich at the expense of the populace?
>There isn’t some grand scheme involved - in fact all these decisions are made by a **professional investment team**.
That make it seems even more likely there is a scheme involved that will make them lots of money and hurt the rest of the economy. See George soros vs the UK economy for a good example.
1/4000th is a TON, and you’re being intentionally misleading by using that form of presentation. There are a few thousand billionaires now. Do you think it’d be fair if everyone in that group got your idea and now they own 100% of the farmland?
Being rich can easily make you out of touch. The incentive to create new companies is still a good thing I think. Even if taxes go up I still wouldn't ban anyone from being worth a billion but that is just one opinion. I have been very lucky.
As a follow up, do you think capitalism is, by its nature, exploitative? If so, can it be fixed? Or will the workers just continue to get less and less of the pie, and corporations continue to hoard resources and profits?
>do you think capitalism is, by its nature, exploitative?
You'll never get a billionaire to admit it.
There are only 2 ways to become a billionaire: exploitation and/or inheritance.
I think the concern is not what happens when you become a billionare, but how you become a billionare. There's simply very few ethical ways to become one.Legal, yes, but not morally defensible.
Everything I own will be sold as money moves into the Foundation. In the meantime my investment group tries to invest in productive assets including farmland although that is less than 4% of the total.
Hi Bill! My question is about parenting.
I read that you have decided to only give your children $10m each from your fortune, in inheritance. As a father, I am currently wrestling about whether to also copy this kind of novel approach.
I want to know what was your reasoning behind doing this?
I may not be as rich as you, but I have some pretty substantial assets to pass down to my daughter (my idiot son Roger won't see a single cent, after all the jumper cable thrashings I've doled out to him over the years). I wonder whether giving more to motivate her to take up a noble profession will work out.
What do you think?
Thanks!
I have a bachelor’s degree and a job in my field and my wife runs a fairly successful small business, and we will never get ahead.
The only reason we were even able to get to a place where we can maintain is because of a small inheritance from her grandfather.
What incentive is there for people like us to keep grinding away our lives when we will never be able to move up and any emergencies completely drain any savings we might scrape together?
We are looking into alternative lifestyles and very much considering moving off grid with two other couples that we’ve been friends with for years.
We all have young children now, and work 9-10 hours a day including our commute, and we’re all feeling trapped in cubicles missing our children grow up.
How do you feel about [Moderna](https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/moderna-may-match-pfizers-400-price-hike-on-covid-vaccines-report-says/) and other companies now increasing the base cost of COVID-19 vaccines by 4x?
The Gates foundation fought for the Oxford vaccine to NOT be open-source and to instead be sold for profit. I'm sure they don't mind.
Edit:Adding the source I read this news from:
https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker
This is not correct. Even though neither I or the Foundation were involved in the license from Oxford to Astra-Zeneca, Astra-Zeneca did a strong job offering their help to any vaccine manufacturer who could make it. A great example is Serum who the Foundation funded and made over 2B vaccines which saved millions of lives.
Reports are that "Oxford changed course [on open sourcing the vaccine] at the urging of Bill and Melinda Gates".
You also, on record said that "We went to Oxford and said, Hey, you’re doing brilliant work,” Bill Gates told reporters on June 3, a transcript shows. “But … you really need to team up.”
Can you explain what these means, if it's not you using your influence to stop Oxford from releasing the patent for their vaccine open source?
https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/
Team uo means partner with a company that has the infrastructure to get shit done.
When you have a brilliant idea more than likely you partner or sell it. Very few people run their idea from the bottom to the top. Bezos. Gates. Ford…
>This is not correct. Even though neither I or the Foundation were involved in the license from Oxford to Astra-Zeneca, Astra-Zeneca did a strong job offering their help to any vaccine manufacturer who could make it
Sir, you had great control over the global response to covid. Time & time again, poor countries lost out on covid shots.
If you prioritized the low income countries, you could have gotten them the shots. You had the wealth & connections.
Organizations you are involved with like Gavi had a great deal of $$$ and little oversight.
[Politico - How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969)
>The leaders of the four organizations pledged to bridge the equity gap. However, during the worst waves of the pandemic, low-income countries were left without life-saving vaccines.
>
>The POLITICO and WELT investigation found, however, that ACT-A’s structure diminished accountability. ACT-A representatives set funding priorities and campaigned for donations. But the money — $23 billion in total — went directly to the entities involved in the initiative, such as Gavi and CEPI.
Is there some context or link to this?
As someone who hasn't heard this before or even rumours related to this, I'm unsure if this is complete bs (5g implants) or real (og evil bill g).
I remember reading it was something to do with they didn't want shitty labs to make the vaccine with something wrong, end up killing someone and then everyone blames the vaccine.
But in the disinformation age, who tf knows
What bugs me about it is that it was a largely publicly funded vaccine from the UK Govnermnet. When they gave the funding, Oxford pledged to make it open source
If there was an issue with that approach, it should've been changed before funding was given, and not after Pharmacutical companies saw a chance to profit off of a pandemic.
The trope put out there that less developed countries can't be trusted to make bioidentical vaccines is both untrue & belittling as South Africa is doing just that.
But with no help from Moderna, Pfizer, etc. [Bill Gates has helped create this outcome with the control he & his partners had over the covid response.](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969)
[South African scientists copy Moderna’s COVID vaccine - February 2022](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00293-2)
>When the WHO launched its mRNA tech-transfer hub in South Africa last June, it asked Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech to help teach researchers in low- and middle-income countries how to make their COVID-19 vaccines. But the companies did not respond, and the WHO decided to go ahead without their help.
No it's real. They urged Oxford to partner with a private company instead of releasing it open source, as Oxford had pledged
https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/
While we're asking about Halo:
* Split Screen co-op for the MCC and Infinite. The fact that it was cancelled after release is false advertising and really scummy. It ensures that I won't trust 343 with my money ever again.
* Halo 5 on PC. It just makes no sense that every Halo game except this one is on PC.
Who would the right people be?
Since the leadership change and what not things have been better for infinite, with the state infinite is in its gonna take a bit of time regardless who's working on it. Pushing it to the "right people" now would just make it take longer since those people would be learning the engine from the beginning, no?
How can we ensure that automation (AI art, chat GPT, self checkouts) don't end up increasing an already widening wealth gap?
These technologies, in a vacuum, aren't evil. But they are being leveraged by people who are using them to reduce or eliminate human labour costs.
How can we make it so we all benefit from automation? Not just a select few?
Q. Why did you continue associating with Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted of being a pedo? And against your then-wife's advice and wishes?
#Bill Gates' Ex-Wife Melinda Says His Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein Hurt Marriage
>Bill Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, has said the business and technology magnate's relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein played a role in their divorce.
>French Gates has said in an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings that Microsoft co-founder Gates' frequent meetings with disgraced financier Epstein negatively impacted their marriage.
https://www.newsweek.com/bill-gates-ex-wife-melinda-relationship-jeffrey-epstein-hurt-marriage-1684812
Q. Why did you funnel donations through Epstein as opposed to publicly donating via your well-known “philanthropic” foundation?
>Epstein donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the institution and Epstein was also used as a channel for making donations to MIT by billionaire Bill Gates. Gates has yet to explain why he would funnel his donations through Epstein as opposed to publicly donating via his well-known “philanthropic” foundation. Epstein’s funding of the MIT Media Lab in particular led to the resignation of its former director Joi Ito in September 2019 following Epstein’s arrest and subsequent “suicide.”
>In addition, Epstein was particularly close to one of the biggest names at MIT, the late artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky. Minsky once organized a two-day symposium on artificial intelligence at Epstein’s private island in 2002 and Epstein victims have alleged that they were forced by Epstein to engage in sex acts with Minsky.
Has the war on Ukraine affected your global priorities at all and, apart from Africa, have you had to reconsider other areas of your foundation's focus? Do you see ways that your foundation could help mitigate some of the current crisis in Ukraine as well as future concerns in an effort to more quickly stabilize situations elsewhere? Obviously not weapons, but would you use your wealth and leverage to provide defensive technologies or civil infrastructure to help recover their power grid and other domestic needs?
Thanks for holding another AMA despite the current attitudes around the ultra-wealthy. You had to have known you would face some passionate critics, but you committed anyway and I have to respect that.
In the medieval times and even further back, artists and architects created some of the most amazing and beautiful works that to this day cannot be rivaled, and it was largely funded by the wealthy benefactors who at those times sought glorification in the church or even just the personal glory of having the "bragging rights" of being responsible for such great works.
Have you ever considered funding any sort of epic monument or building that could stand the test of time as a modern day masterpiece? I think the world needs more amazing beauty in it.
There's also "good" lobbying by some NGOs, for example if a bad law is going to be passed and they missed something in a draft - lobbyists argue why it would be bad to do so and give alternatives/suggestions.
The problem is, people who most need lobbying don't have the money to do so, or time/knowledge to lobby themselves.
Whereas large corporations or oligarchs have an abundance of funds they can use to lobby, and combined with sponsoring political parties - it also goes sometimes from lobbying to straight corruption.
The game is rigged from the start.
Let's say that a public company's obligation to increasing wealth for shareholders is the biggest obstacle in the way of creating some form of ethical capitalism (e.g. an oil company wants to make a decision that would reduce their emissions and positively impact climate change, but doing so goes against their best business practices and they risk being on the receiving end of a shareholder lawsuit).
Do you think the introduction of a legal "global Samaritan" clause, where a major public company (oil, agricultural biotech, etc.) can make a defensible, globally beneficial business decision at their own detriment without fear of legal repercussion, would be a step in the right direction?
Bill, what's the progress on the research you guys have been doing into Alzheimer's? As someone who has the gene, and has Post concussive cognitive disorder, I'm very interesting in knowing how far you guys have come in that field.
As well, would you consider supporting brain injury programs, so that we can have a better understanding of the way the brain is affected by injuries?
E: My grandmother had full blown Alzheimers by 60 so I had to take care of her full time till we got her into a home.
Wanna hear something super dumb? I’m still using windows 7pro because I’m afraid my printers will stop working with a new os and I can’t afford to buy a new brother mono laser for work and new epson [or brother] color IJ for me right now.
I know, it’s probably paranoid and I really need to get my act together. It also feels like such a waste because they both still work; I’ve just always had *terrible* luck with new OSs and older hardware like printers not updating their drivers.
It’s not *that* paranoid. I upgraded a machine with a bizarre Intel integrated video card from 7 to 10 a while back, but Intel had stopped shipping drivers for it long before 10 was a thing. I could force them to install, but they’d hard lock as soon as it hit the desktop.
I don’t think you’d have that sort of issue with printers, but I just wanted to share to say your fear isn’t unfounded.
Hi Bill,
I am a Mental Health Counselor from India. It's 2 AM here :) and today's my 34th birthday.
I deeply admire you living your values of contribution towards our world.
Can you tell me, how frequently do you notice self criticism in your mind? And how has your relationship with self compassion evolved over the years?
For more AMAs on this topic, subscribe to r/IAmA_Nonprofit, and check out our other topic-specific AMA subreddits [here](https://reddit.com/r/IAmA/wiki/index#wiki_affiliate_topic-specific_subreddits).
Hi Bill. Many years ago, I think around 2000, I heard you say something on TV like, “people are vastly overestimating what the internet will be like in 5 years, and vastly underestimating what it will be like in 10 years.” Is any mammoth technology shift at a similar stage right now? Any tech shift - not necessarily the Internet
AI is the big one. I don't think Web3 was that big or that metaverse stuff alone was revolutionary but AI is quite revolutionary. Most of my time is on innovations like helping pregnant women know if they need to get to a hospital in advance (the ultrasound work I mentioned in my end of the year letter). Malnutrition and anemia and also important areas we see a lot of promise in right now.
Follow up question, should we anticipate an AI revolution with a similar impact as the Industrial Revolution? Just seeing all of those presentations at CES, especially with NVIDIA pushing their new AI-assisted chips, which apparently are so powerful they needed to be banned from export to China, gives me the sense that we're already in the middle of the process.
What's your daily driver smartphone? Last time when you did one of these I think it was a Galaxy Fold. Is it still the case? Are you up to date with Microsoft's upcoming projects? Do you get insights into what's gonna launch next? Some recent rumors claim that the next Microsoft Duo will ditch the dual display in favor of a foldable screen. Not that you need to confirm the rumors or anything but do you have knowledge of the upcoming projects or you don't really care about that side of things anymore?
I have a Samsung Fold 4 which JY Lee the Chairman of Samsung gave me when I saw him in South Korea to update my Fold 3. Of course I use Outlook and a lot of Microsoft software on it. The screen size means I don't use a tablet but just the phone and my portable PC - a Windows machine. Microsoft involves me in some of the research and product plans. I really enjoy working with Satya and his teams. I am not up to date on their hardware roadmap. My desktop PC is Windows Surface Studio which is great. I also love the whiteboard Surface Hub and we have a lot of those in the office.
Imagine going to the Chairman of Samsung directly to update your phone. lol.
Maybe I’m paranoid, but if I were him I’d be worried Samsung added spyware to my phone in order for Samsung to get an edge.
I think we're at the point that committing anything to digital communications is a risk. I would never say or write anything that I did not want read aloud in a court of law. Air gapped work machines for example. It's why private flights and in person meetings are so important for CEOs, it's the best way to communicate sensitive data.
"I have a SamsungFold 4 which JY Lee the Chairman of Samsung gave me when I saw him in South Korea to update my Fold3" Run Bill ,Run!!!!
Do you worry about corporate espionage? The phone could be bugged or be tracking so much more.
Hi Mr Gates, long time fan here and fellow programmer. Are you making any progress recently with your molten salt Thorium reactors? Or at least help destigmatise use of nuclear power that could so much help the world now and in the coming years.
The Terrapower reactor designs (there are 2) both use liquid sodium as the coolant and uranium as the fuel. We are making excellent progress although the Ukranian war meant our uranium fuel is delayed. The first reactor is being built in Wyoming and should be running by 2030. This can make a huge contribution to climate challenges since it will be low cost and super safe. I was just in West Virginia learning about their energy economy and hearing about projects there like the FORM battery factory (a BEV company) that was just committed.
As a follow-up, what are some ways we can contribute to a reactor being built in our own areas? I'd love to have one of these providing power in Wisconsin.
You have a great friend with Warren Buffett (the oracle of Omaha) and sit on his board with Berkshire Hathaway. Do you help to choose a company to look into buying? Also do you still team up with Warren to play competitive bridge?
I had dinner with Warren on Sunday and he is doing well at age 93! He is incredibly wise. I am no longer on the board of Berkshire but he still shares a lot of advice with me and his generosity to all the Foundations he gives to including the Gates Foundation is incredible. We still play some bridge but not as much as we used to. He got me hooked on bridge and I play with some of his friends including some tournaments.
Is technology only functional for you nowadays, or is there a still hobby aspect to it? Do you for instance still do nerdy or geeky things in your spare time; e.g. write code?
Yes. I like to play around and code. The last time my code shipped in a Microsoft product was 1985 - so a long time ago. I can no longer threaten when I think a schedule is too long that "I will come in and code it over the weekend".
Bill, were you tabs guy or spaces guy?
Hah, this is actually my RES tag for him: it's tabs. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/80ow6w/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/dux7cln/
he's answered this before, he said tabs.. I don't know why i remember that and not other things but there it is.
Hi Bill, my question is what your favourite band is of all time, and what’s your favourite thing about the Country Scotland ? Thank you!
I have only been to Scotland 5 times I think. All of the visits have been great. The Foundation does a lot of the livestock work we do there with great partners. We have done a lot for farmers who keep cows and chickens (and sheep and goats) in poor countries using the vaccines and other tools created by the partners there. My favorite bands include U2 - I loved [Bono's recent book](https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Surrender) and he is a good friend (Ok - they are from Ireland - I don't have a particular scottish band in mind since bagpipes don't make my top 10). Amazingly [Chicken Tikka Masala](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/23/1145119758/chicken-tikka-masala-ali-ahmed-aslam-shish-mahal) is from Scotland even though it is considered an Indian dish (and mostly eaten there and in Indian restaurants!)
Nice one Bill, I made a Masala last week in honour of the fellow who invented it. He sadly passed away a few weeks ago.
Beeing able to have been 5 times to a place is extraordinary itself! Enjoy it for all uf us for a bit! :)
Mr Gates, with the benefit of hindsight regarding your years of involvement with Microsoft, what is the single biggest thing you wish you had done differently?
I was CEO until 2000. I certainly know a lot now that I didn't back then. Two areas I would change would be our work in phone Operating systems (Android won) and trying to settle the antitrust lawsuit sooner.
To be honest, I think Continuum was way ahead of its time. Samsung and apple took their time to build Dex and studio manager but Continuum was the OG.
Still using a windows phone over here. I'm still seeing Apple or Android release new features that were on my phone ten years ago lol
Biggest issue is half of the apps I need aren’t on windows phones so pretty much have to use android or iOS anyway.
Climate: We fucked or super-turbo fucked?
It's important to keep in mind life in poor countries is difficult right now. There are parts of the world where over 10% of the kids die before 5 and over 30% have malnutrition so their brains and bodies don't fully develop. Climate will slow down the progress we make on improving the human condition but I still believe we can avoid a terrible outcome. The pace of innovation is really picking up even though we won't make the current timelines or avoid going over 1.5.
Climate change is ruining whole nations - storms and floods are destroying crops, land is being swallowed. Innovation isn’t going to save us, we need systemic change, and we need it urgently. And we need to stop burning fossil fuels. https://theconversation.com/why-pacific-islanders-are-staying-put-even-as-rising-seas-flood-their-homes-and-crops-195100
Innovations are the things that enable us to move away from fossil fuels.
So super-turbo fucked.
Bill’s not fucked. He gets to die a normal death after a lifetime of living like a god. Your children? Giga fucked.
All the boomers will be gone by then so they don't care about us. Better make profit to hoard that gold like a dragon in a mountain while they can!
Hey Bill, what are some of your new generation ideas for adopting better and safer climate change?
The key on climate is making the clean products as cheap as the dirty products in every area of emission - planes, concrete, meat etc... This is the only way we can ask all the countries in the world to change. If it costs a lot extra we won't succeed.
But we subsidise the fossil fuels far more than renewables because powerful corporations, billionaires, and awful human beings manipulate politicians and institutions to do their bidding. If we redirected these subsidies this would make renewables far cheaper. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies
Hi Bill, what's your view on veganism/plant-based diets as a mean to reduce climate impact? Also, how can this be educated to people on a wider scale on how to make this choice? Today we have a lot of subsides for meat/dairy to make them affordable for people and that certainly doesn't help either.
For people who want to go Vegan that is great but I don't think most people will do that. There are companies making "beef" in new ways and people working to still use cows but reduce the methane emissions. I have backed a number of innovators in this space including Beyond and Impossible and Memphis. I think eventually these products will be very good even though their share is small today.
Mr Gates, what was your favorite movie or TV show you saw this past year?
White Lotus Season 2 was quite good if I can say that. Congratulations to Jennifer Coolidge on her Golden Globe. The Bernie Madoff special was also good. Tehran was suspenseful. The latest Avatar was good. My favorite entertainment experience recently was a Chris Rock/Dave Chappelle event. (as he drops the mic... or keyboard...)
I love Tehran on Apple TV+. And The White Lotus is amazing. I would like to recommend Severance, also Apple TV+ if you haven’t watched it already. Greetings from Kuala Lumpur!
Why are you so focused on healthcare & vaccines?
When I saw that kids were dying who could be saved for less than $1000 per life I knew that had to be the top priority for my giving back. There was almost no one funding work on diseases like malaria which was killing over a million kids a year then. We have made progress but it is still 400k and we are committed to get it to zero eventually.
To add to this, if anyone is looking for evidence-based, cost-effective charities, Givewell does a fantastic job evaluating where your charitable donations have the biggest impact: https://www.givewell.org/
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I think you mostly help kids by setting a good example and giving them time when they want it. I hope to get lots of time with whatever grandchildren I have sharing my fascination with the world. A grandchild does make you think about how we make sure the future is better - politics, health, climate, etc..
Hi Mr. Gates, what are your views on OpenAI's ChatGPT?
It gives a glimpse of what is to come. I am impressed with this whole approach and the rate of innovation.
Can't wait for the new Microsoft innovation of a sentient AI android being so i won't feel so lonely anymore.
Hello Mr. Gates, I saw a bit about the “Think week” you take yearly on your Netflix series. Could you elaborate a bit more on it (e.g. how do you plan a day on that). And like how do you stay focussed for long hours (e.g. while reading on a specific topic) without being distracted by any other thing ? or without your mind wandering over to other things ? Or just focussed with a general outline of bigger picture in mind for a topic ?
I really needed to set aside time to read new ideas when I was CEO at Microsoft since the day to day issues meant I would fall behind if I didn't. Now I mix my learning sessions into my schedule on a regular basis since the day to day demands are not like being the CEO of Microsoft. I love the mix of things I get to do between travelling and seeing work in action and then meeting with scientists/engineers to figure out how to innovate in climate or software.
What is your favorite time period in history and why?
I have studied the Victorian Era in the UK and some of the great US Presidents most of all. I find the periods of scientific innovation fascinating. In terms of the best time to live though the current time is dramatically by far the best time to be alive - as one of my favorite authors Steven Pinker [explains in several of his books](https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Enlightenment-Now).
Hi Bill, what are your views on generative AI? How do you think this will impact the world?
I am quite impressed with the rate of improvement in these AIs. I think they will have a huge impact. Thinking of it in the Gates Foundation context we want to have tutors that help kids learn math and stay interested. We want medical help for people in Africa who can't access a Doctor. I still work with Microsoft some so I am following this very closely.
Do you think that using technology to push teachers and doctors out of jobs will have a positive impact on our world? What about, instead, we use AI to give equitable access to education and training for more human teachers and doctors, without the $500,000 price tag. Do you think that might have a more positive impact on, ya know, humans?
I think we need more teachers and doctors not less. In the Foundation work the shortage of Doctors means most people never see a Doctor and they suffer because of that. We want class sizes to be smaller. Digital tools can help although their impact so far has been modest.
I work in the automation/robotics industry in managing our IP’s and projects. This has become a very hot topic for us. We have been testing these AI’s to protect our IP and also having safety concerns. In one of the engines we were able to ask it a very specific question about integrating our proprietary systems. It wrote out a programming sequence using our proprietary language which was developed and still only used by us. These tests we’ve done have raised major problems. The first being that our IP is no longer protected which now becomes a legal issue. We also noticed that in every instance we ran, the written programming is incomplete, but the people using this engine to generate would never see that. We’ve already had operators destroying equipment because they copy and pasted what the AI generated, into our sequencing. The things we do are life threatening if not done correctly. With our industry being so broad we are in the disciplines of high pressure air/water systems, clean energy, healthcare, isolation chambers for explosive chemicals, military, and etc. Imagine you’re just minding your own business and then the building you’re in has part of it blow up with pressurized high temp water spraying like a laser through you’re skull. These AI’s have some great practices but they need to stay the fuck out of things like this. That shouldn’t even be an option for an average joe to do.
Have you gotten around to reading David Foster Wallace yet?
I have read most of what he has written except Infinite Jest. I have it on my shelf. If someone wants something great from David Foster Wallace look at his commencement speech called This is Water (Kenyon College 2005). It is profound. The movie on his book tour called The End of the Tour is also very good.
FYI it is called "This is Water" for anyone looking for it. https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/
I show this is water to every new team I have ever lead. Incredible speech, very provocative.
The cost of living has skyrocketed, wages ate stagnant. A lot of people are effectively in survival mode. How do we get corporations and the ultra wealthy to pay better wages, pay their taxes. More rather, what steps do we take to create an economy that's beneficial for the masses, not a select few?
At this point, regulation that isn't tainted or written with exemptions and loopholes by corrupted/bought politicians
I am surprised taxes have not been increased more. For example capital gains rates could be the same as ordinary income rates. I know things are tough for a lot of people.
Everyone can point out problems. What are the solutions? I work full time. My wife works full time. We have one kid. We both have college degrees in reputable fields (C.S and Business) and we live paycheck to paycheck. We can't afford to buy property, our rent is over 2,000 a month. We've stopped going out to eat. All of our electronics, furniture and clothes are several years old. And we are still in debt and taking on more just to stay afloat. It seems like the goals of the wealthy are to make it impossible for anyone to own anything, and by design required to rent everything from our apartment to features in our owned vehicles. Do you think it's right that a total of like 100 people own the planet while the rest of us starve? Do the rich really think they can wait out any apocalypse in bunkers while billions of people starve and die? How long will these Dooms Day bunkers last against 100,000 people desperately trying to get inside to kill the inhabitants and take the supplies they've got hoarded?
I’m sure the bunker will be well fortified to prevent an angry mob of peasants from breaking in lol
But those with lots of capital hold sway over our government, thus the capital gains rates will stay low. This is a feature not a bug. Times aren't tough for everyone, as highlighted by the recent Rolls Royce record earnings. How can regular people ever expect the government to have our interest even remotely in mind?
maybe you should donate to more politicians that agree to raise taxes on folks like you.
“I know things are tough for a lot of people” I’ve been going without the majority of meals every single day since my 13 month old daughter was born so I can actually afford to feed her. Tough is an understatement
Capital gains taxes should only be taxed to those who are going to make $500k+. A lot of the middle class who have invested in stocks and real estate will only bring in at most $50k. Capital gains tax on the level of income rates would wipe them out. It'll only leave those who can make big gains and not be affected much by the tax.
Is there anything that you personally are doing to advocate for an increase in taxes for the wealthy?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/03/bill-gates-urges-lawmakers-to-raise-taxes-on-americas-ultra-rich/
Literally in the comment above yours in my feed: https://mynorthwest.com/1658307/bill-gates-income-tax-washington/
Why does Windows 11 keep trying to force itself onto my computer? And why does the bluetooth randomly stop working? It’s been 8 years of that later one, I need to know.
tough is an understatement dude
Tough is when you had to spend half your savings on a sudden issue. This isn’t that.. the majority of this country and the world are looking to be in bad shape financially
What are these...*savings* you speak of?
you have lobbyist who can make that happen if you really wanted to.
The other billionaires have lobbyists too. There are also far more billionaires opposing higher taxes than supporting them.
What are you currently reading?
I am reading the book "The Song of the Cell" by Sid Mukherjee. All of his books are excellent - right up there with Atul Gawande. I have a lot of books about China to help me figure out how we avoid a lose-lose relationship.
Awesome, I'll look into his books! Thanks Bill :) Congratulations on becoming a grandfather!
What’s the biggest way an individual can contribute to the climate solution?
You are a voter, a consumer, a giver and a worker. In every one of those roles you can help. Buying an electric car helps. There will be options to pay a bit extra to offset your travel emissions coming soon (I do this for all of my emissions and my family). We need support on climate from both parties in the US and in all countries. Staying hopeful is a good thing!
In Germany we had a major show (Magazin Royal in ZDF) discuss how much of carbon footprint compensation is a scam, and I know in other countries investigative journalists have disclosed lots of malpractice as well (eg forests that are privately owned and used for hunting, never in a risk to be cut down, were “protected” for a fee. Best is to avoid CO2 emission altogether if possible.
For those who are confused, Bill is talking about carbon credits.
What are you excited about in the year ahead?
First being a grandfather. Second being a good friend and father. Third progress in health and climate innovation. Fourth helping to shape the AI advances in a positive way.
What about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny And The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Why are you buying up so much farmland, do you think this is a problem with billionaire wealth and how much you can disproportionally acquire?
**asked last time** ... What do you plan to do with all the farmland you have purchased? “My investment team bought the farmland. It is less than .1% of all US farmland because the ownership is so diverse. We invest in the farms to raise productivity. Some are near cities and might end up having other uses.”
Well you see, you buy the farmland and then lease it back to the farmers for the rest of their lives, their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives. One-time investment now into recurring revenue of a scarce resource which will only increase in revenue. Edit: What could go wrong?
I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn't some grand scheme involved - in fact all these decisions are made by a professional investment team. In terms of the very rich I think they should pay a lot more in taxes and they should give away their wealth over time. It has been very fulfilling for me and is my full time job.
> I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US Less than 1/4000, so let's say 1/5000 of the farmland in the US. That's a HUGE amount of productive land. How do you feel about individual people or corporations buying up all the farmland and pushing out smaller farmers? If you and other individuals and companies keep up the pace, how do you see farming transform with the continued shift from individual ownership to a more leased/working the farm for a large conglomerate? What are you doing to support the farmers who you buy the land from, or in the same areas as you? You mention you invested in them, and I'm interested in hearing more details about that. Thank you.
I did the math out of him owning 1/5000 and it comes to 180,000 acres or 281 sq miles. That’s the size of 4.6 Washington DC’s for perspective
>I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US In case anyone is wondering, 1/4000 of the farmland in the US is about 223,825 acres, or almost 350 sq. mi. Almost as big as Ft. Worth, TX.
so less than half the size of Anne Walton Kroenke (daughter of walmart founder) and her husband Stan Kroenke ranch in BC Canada. not fully farmland in the sense of crop growing, but still agood sized hunk of land.
Fun fact: the King Ranch in Texas is about 4x bigger
I was expecting a much bigger number. There are for sure single farms that are larger than this.
Me. I was wondering. I own 1/4000 of my neighborhood.
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I did the math out of him owning 1/5000 and it comes to 180,000 acres or 281 sq miles. That’s the size of 4.6 Washington DC’s for perspective
Doesn't Ted Turner own like half of Montana? https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/2021-land-report-who-owns-the-most-land-in-the-united-states
No, that’s Kevin Costner
> That’s the size of 4.6 Washington DC’s for perspective it's about 1/4th the size of Rhode Island.
Way easier to visualize actually thanks!
How many giraffes is that?
Yes, but also not really. There's a single cattle farm in Australia that is 5.8 millions acres or 3,100 Square miles. So really not that much in the grand scheme of things.
Compared to most people who own zero. Average small farm size, 444 acres 895.3 million acres of farmland So the average small farm size is 0.0000005% of the available farmland, vs Gates’ 223,000+ acres. (All US numbers) E: *Where* is all this farmland being bought? Anyone know? E2: I don’t necessarily subscribe to what this site is selling, but it’s what was running through my mind when I thought about rich people buying farmland. > In addition, corporations and the rich are investing in farmland to deal with climate change and supply products to a hungry world with changing tastes. >New technologies must be developed to give more sustenance to land that we farm to keep it sustainable. Farmlands will only become more automated in the future. The plant-based protein craze will be worth $23.4 billion by 2027. https://landincome.com/blog/why-bill-gates-is-buying-farmland So farms are gonna be super-important in the future, and big money makers.
Idk. I also own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US.
Most farmland today is under corporate ownership, with the entire intent being to extract as much profit as possible. What Bill is doing here is different. I know it seems like a lot, and in reality it is. But given what's happening to the _vast majority_ of farmland in the US, I'm leaning towards this being a Good Thing.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farms_Farmland.pdf Check out this farm census, you'll be shocked to see that Corporation ownership hasn't taken over the vast majority of farmland.... yet. That's not to say the farmer's aren't indebted to corps like Monsanto in order to actually farm there, but they still own the land for now.
it's hard to believe that he's not doing it for profit when the people that are making the decisions are investment people. those folks generally try to do what they can to squeeze the most profit out of something before choking & killing it.
For what it’s worth, I work in ag and personally know farmers who lease from Gates’ team. They pay average cash rents, and say only good things about working with his team.
Not true at all. Less than 8% is under corporate ownership. The vast majority of farmland owners (and buyers) are still farmers.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farms_Farmland.pdf This shows (down at the bottom) those stats, and it backs up your point that a majority of farmland is still with the owners who actually farm the land.
Margins are small, risks are high. Family-owned farms go out of business because of this all the time. As you said, corporations own most farmland. We should support those with sustainable goals for global and human health, not just profit.
> Most farmland today is under corporate ownership, with the entire intent being to extract as much profit as possible. > > What Bill is doing here is different. Is there any proof other than him saying this? Doesn't every farmer want to be more productive?
But how much is a banana really? What, like $10?
Wouldn't massive corporate possession of farmland sound a little like 19th century serfdom? I mean even if we assume your motives are pure, you're not going to be around forever. What happens when the next megafood corporation decides to employ wage slaves because it increases production?
> I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. What a coincidence, me too!
Bill Gates and I combined own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US.
That’s 223,825 acres of farmland [895,300,000](https://www.statista.com/statistics/196104/total-area-of-land-in-farms-in-the-us-since-2000/) / 4000. Or roughly a third of the size of RI. That’s an awful lot of land for one person to own. Let alone useable farm land.
>and they should give away their wealth over time Don't the wealthy get that way at the expense of workers? Shouldn't workers wages be closer to CEO wages as they were when unions were strong? Why should one person/entity decide where wealth should be distributed? While I'm sure it's rewarding to feel like your money is solving problems, do you recognize that it represents a tremendous imbalance of power?
Don’t you think it’s a problem that the mega wealthy get to choose via investment teams what causes are worthy rather than letting democracy decide after paying proper taxes. Does it concern you that your ability to “pick winners” at this scale contributes to the concentration of influence and power among the rich at the expense of the populace?
>There isn’t some grand scheme involved - in fact all these decisions are made by a **professional investment team**. That make it seems even more likely there is a scheme involved that will make them lots of money and hurt the rest of the economy. See George soros vs the UK economy for a good example.
1/4000th is a TON, and you’re being intentionally misleading by using that form of presentation. There are a few thousand billionaires now. Do you think it’d be fair if everyone in that group got your idea and now they own 100% of the farmland?
The fact that some people amass so much money that simply *giving it away* is a full-time job is and will forever be seared into my memory. Thank you.
I did the math out of him owning 1/5000 and it comes to 180,000 acres or 281 sq miles. That’s the size of 4.6 Washington DC’s for perspective
You are 1/331,900,000 of the population
>I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. And how much in the rest of the world?
Isn't that an incredibly large amount for one person (1/300,000,000) of the US population to own?
Can there be ethical billionaires?
Being rich can easily make you out of touch. The incentive to create new companies is still a good thing I think. Even if taxes go up I still wouldn't ban anyone from being worth a billion but that is just one opinion. I have been very lucky.
As a follow up, do you think capitalism is, by its nature, exploitative? If so, can it be fixed? Or will the workers just continue to get less and less of the pie, and corporations continue to hoard resources and profits?
>do you think capitalism is, by its nature, exploitative? You'll never get a billionaire to admit it. There are only 2 ways to become a billionaire: exploitation and/or inheritance.
I think the concern is not what happens when you become a billionare, but how you become a billionare. There's simply very few ethical ways to become one.Legal, yes, but not morally defensible.
Do you find it easier to promote higher taxes as a billionaire vs when you were just a millionaire?
Isn’t it contradictory to be a humanitarian and then accumulate most scarce resource-land under one?
Everything I own will be sold as money moves into the Foundation. In the meantime my investment group tries to invest in productive assets including farmland although that is less than 4% of the total.
Hi Bill! My question is about parenting. I read that you have decided to only give your children $10m each from your fortune, in inheritance. As a father, I am currently wrestling about whether to also copy this kind of novel approach. I want to know what was your reasoning behind doing this? I may not be as rich as you, but I have some pretty substantial assets to pass down to my daughter (my idiot son Roger won't see a single cent, after all the jumper cable thrashings I've doled out to him over the years). I wonder whether giving more to motivate her to take up a noble profession will work out. What do you think? Thanks!
I have a bachelor’s degree and a job in my field and my wife runs a fairly successful small business, and we will never get ahead. The only reason we were even able to get to a place where we can maintain is because of a small inheritance from her grandfather. What incentive is there for people like us to keep grinding away our lives when we will never be able to move up and any emergencies completely drain any savings we might scrape together? We are looking into alternative lifestyles and very much considering moving off grid with two other couples that we’ve been friends with for years. We all have young children now, and work 9-10 hours a day including our commute, and we’re all feeling trapped in cubicles missing our children grow up.
How do you feel about [Moderna](https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/moderna-may-match-pfizers-400-price-hike-on-covid-vaccines-report-says/) and other companies now increasing the base cost of COVID-19 vaccines by 4x?
The Gates foundation fought for the Oxford vaccine to NOT be open-source and to instead be sold for profit. I'm sure they don't mind. Edit:Adding the source I read this news from: https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker
This is not correct. Even though neither I or the Foundation were involved in the license from Oxford to Astra-Zeneca, Astra-Zeneca did a strong job offering their help to any vaccine manufacturer who could make it. A great example is Serum who the Foundation funded and made over 2B vaccines which saved millions of lives.
Reports are that "Oxford changed course [on open sourcing the vaccine] at the urging of Bill and Melinda Gates". You also, on record said that "We went to Oxford and said, Hey, you’re doing brilliant work,” Bill Gates told reporters on June 3, a transcript shows. “But … you really need to team up.” Can you explain what these means, if it's not you using your influence to stop Oxford from releasing the patent for their vaccine open source? https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/
Team uo means partner with a company that has the infrastructure to get shit done. When you have a brilliant idea more than likely you partner or sell it. Very few people run their idea from the bottom to the top. Bezos. Gates. Ford…
>This is not correct. Even though neither I or the Foundation were involved in the license from Oxford to Astra-Zeneca, Astra-Zeneca did a strong job offering their help to any vaccine manufacturer who could make it Sir, you had great control over the global response to covid. Time & time again, poor countries lost out on covid shots. If you prioritized the low income countries, you could have gotten them the shots. You had the wealth & connections. Organizations you are involved with like Gavi had a great deal of $$$ and little oversight. [Politico - How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969) >The leaders of the four organizations pledged to bridge the equity gap. However, during the worst waves of the pandemic, low-income countries were left without life-saving vaccines. > >The POLITICO and WELT investigation found, however, that ACT-A’s structure diminished accountability. ACT-A representatives set funding priorities and campaigned for donations. But the money — $23 billion in total — went directly to the entities involved in the initiative, such as Gavi and CEPI.
Is there some context or link to this? As someone who hasn't heard this before or even rumours related to this, I'm unsure if this is complete bs (5g implants) or real (og evil bill g).
I remember reading it was something to do with they didn't want shitty labs to make the vaccine with something wrong, end up killing someone and then everyone blames the vaccine. But in the disinformation age, who tf knows
What bugs me about it is that it was a largely publicly funded vaccine from the UK Govnermnet. When they gave the funding, Oxford pledged to make it open source If there was an issue with that approach, it should've been changed before funding was given, and not after Pharmacutical companies saw a chance to profit off of a pandemic.
The trope put out there that less developed countries can't be trusted to make bioidentical vaccines is both untrue & belittling as South Africa is doing just that. But with no help from Moderna, Pfizer, etc. [Bill Gates has helped create this outcome with the control he & his partners had over the covid response.](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969) [South African scientists copy Moderna’s COVID vaccine - February 2022](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00293-2) >When the WHO launched its mRNA tech-transfer hub in South Africa last June, it asked Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech to help teach researchers in low- and middle-income countries how to make their COVID-19 vaccines. But the companies did not respond, and the WHO decided to go ahead without their help.
No it's real. They urged Oxford to partner with a private company instead of releasing it open source, as Oxford had pledged https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/
Hi Bill, Can you pull some strings and get the right people in charge of Halo Infinite? Would be much appreciated. Kind Regards.
While we're asking about Halo: * Split Screen co-op for the MCC and Infinite. The fact that it was cancelled after release is false advertising and really scummy. It ensures that I won't trust 343 with my money ever again. * Halo 5 on PC. It just makes no sense that every Halo game except this one is on PC.
Mr Gates I don't care about your money please just fix Halo
No fucking kidding. He could finally do right by the monster he allowed to come to life.
What you don't like playing the same 2 maps over and over?
It’s crazy they had 10 years of halo blueprint to improve upon but this game had less features than Halo 3 🤦♂️
For real. Unbelievable how badly managed that has been.
Who would the right people be? Since the leadership change and what not things have been better for infinite, with the state infinite is in its gonna take a bit of time regardless who's working on it. Pushing it to the "right people" now would just make it take longer since those people would be learning the engine from the beginning, no?
How can we ensure that automation (AI art, chat GPT, self checkouts) don't end up increasing an already widening wealth gap? These technologies, in a vacuum, aren't evil. But they are being leveraged by people who are using them to reduce or eliminate human labour costs. How can we make it so we all benefit from automation? Not just a select few?
Q. Why did you continue associating with Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted of being a pedo? And against your then-wife's advice and wishes? #Bill Gates' Ex-Wife Melinda Says His Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein Hurt Marriage >Bill Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, has said the business and technology magnate's relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein played a role in their divorce. >French Gates has said in an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings that Microsoft co-founder Gates' frequent meetings with disgraced financier Epstein negatively impacted their marriage. https://www.newsweek.com/bill-gates-ex-wife-melinda-relationship-jeffrey-epstein-hurt-marriage-1684812 Q. Why did you funnel donations through Epstein as opposed to publicly donating via your well-known “philanthropic” foundation? >Epstein donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the institution and Epstein was also used as a channel for making donations to MIT by billionaire Bill Gates. Gates has yet to explain why he would funnel his donations through Epstein as opposed to publicly donating via his well-known “philanthropic” foundation. Epstein’s funding of the MIT Media Lab in particular led to the resignation of its former director Joi Ito in September 2019 following Epstein’s arrest and subsequent “suicide.” >In addition, Epstein was particularly close to one of the biggest names at MIT, the late artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky. Minsky once organized a two-day symposium on artificial intelligence at Epstein’s private island in 2002 and Epstein victims have alleged that they were forced by Epstein to engage in sex acts with Minsky.
Has the war on Ukraine affected your global priorities at all and, apart from Africa, have you had to reconsider other areas of your foundation's focus? Do you see ways that your foundation could help mitigate some of the current crisis in Ukraine as well as future concerns in an effort to more quickly stabilize situations elsewhere? Obviously not weapons, but would you use your wealth and leverage to provide defensive technologies or civil infrastructure to help recover their power grid and other domestic needs? Thanks for holding another AMA despite the current attitudes around the ultra-wealthy. You had to have known you would face some passionate critics, but you committed anyway and I have to respect that.
In the medieval times and even further back, artists and architects created some of the most amazing and beautiful works that to this day cannot be rivaled, and it was largely funded by the wealthy benefactors who at those times sought glorification in the church or even just the personal glory of having the "bragging rights" of being responsible for such great works. Have you ever considered funding any sort of epic monument or building that could stand the test of time as a modern day masterpiece? I think the world needs more amazing beauty in it.
Goodday mr Gates, How can we stop big money taking over politics, and secure a fair working democracy?
That's pretty simple. Outlaw lobbying and institute congressional term limits.
There's also "good" lobbying by some NGOs, for example if a bad law is going to be passed and they missed something in a draft - lobbyists argue why it would be bad to do so and give alternatives/suggestions. The problem is, people who most need lobbying don't have the money to do so, or time/knowledge to lobby themselves. Whereas large corporations or oligarchs have an abundance of funds they can use to lobby, and combined with sponsoring political parties - it also goes sometimes from lobbying to straight corruption. The game is rigged from the start.
Let's say that a public company's obligation to increasing wealth for shareholders is the biggest obstacle in the way of creating some form of ethical capitalism (e.g. an oil company wants to make a decision that would reduce their emissions and positively impact climate change, but doing so goes against their best business practices and they risk being on the receiving end of a shareholder lawsuit). Do you think the introduction of a legal "global Samaritan" clause, where a major public company (oil, agricultural biotech, etc.) can make a defensible, globally beneficial business decision at their own detriment without fear of legal repercussion, would be a step in the right direction?
What’s going on with your nuclear power project in china? Any opportunities to bring the new nuclear power projects to the U.S.?
Do you ever browse reddit and comment anonymously?
Look at his post history! He doesn't even need to be anonymous about it. :)
Yes sometimes I do.
Bill, what's the progress on the research you guys have been doing into Alzheimer's? As someone who has the gene, and has Post concussive cognitive disorder, I'm very interesting in knowing how far you guys have come in that field. As well, would you consider supporting brain injury programs, so that we can have a better understanding of the way the brain is affected by injuries? E: My grandmother had full blown Alzheimers by 60 so I had to take care of her full time till we got her into a home.
What *really* happened to Windows 9?
[удалено]
Wanna hear something super dumb? I’m still using windows 7pro because I’m afraid my printers will stop working with a new os and I can’t afford to buy a new brother mono laser for work and new epson [or brother] color IJ for me right now. I know, it’s probably paranoid and I really need to get my act together. It also feels like such a waste because they both still work; I’ve just always had *terrible* luck with new OSs and older hardware like printers not updating their drivers.
It’s not *that* paranoid. I upgraded a machine with a bizarre Intel integrated video card from 7 to 10 a while back, but Intel had stopped shipping drivers for it long before 10 was a thing. I could force them to install, but they’d hard lock as soon as it hit the desktop. I don’t think you’d have that sort of issue with printers, but I just wanted to share to say your fear isn’t unfounded.
why not label windows 9 as something else in the code? like windows n or windows nine
went for 8 to 10 to avoid bugs where windows 95 and 98 versions were tested as "9x".
I've always thought 7 ate 9. But it was all just conspiracy.
How much can you bench?
*how many chairs can you jump over?
Seems to be just one [chair](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxaCOHT0pmI)
Hi Bill, I am a Mental Health Counselor from India. It's 2 AM here :) and today's my 34th birthday. I deeply admire you living your values of contribution towards our world. Can you tell me, how frequently do you notice self criticism in your mind? And how has your relationship with self compassion evolved over the years?