Melinda French Gates has criticised the newly wealthy for using their influence as a “megaphone” rather than being true philanthropists.
Speaking to The New York Times In a podcast, Bill Gates' ex-wife said that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, PayPal founder Peter Thei, Twitter founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, and American hedge fund manager Bill Ackman have not contributed enough to be called philanthropists.
“Well, the people you just named have not been very philanthropic yet. They use their voice and their megaphones, but I wouldn't call those men philanthropists,” he said.
“Let's look at their track record of donating money to society. They are not big. In my opinion, they are not philanthropic people,” he added.
She also mentioned that the activities of her husband and Warren Buffet cannot be compared to the “super rich” of recent times.
“We have some wealthy people who decide to pay back the money and others who don't,” he said.
The former co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called Musk's comments about her political activism “silly.”
“I knew I had to speak out for women's rights, and if there was a candidate who was against women's rights and said terrible things about women, there was no way I could vote for that person,” Gates said.
Earlier, Musk, 53, slammed his support for Joe Biden for the upcoming election, calling it the downfall of Western civilization.
The 59-year-old philanthropist has since stepped down as co-chair of the Gates Foundation, though he remained committed to “the people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including reproductive rights in the United States.”
