Q&A

Can 2\% of Elon musks wealth solve world hunger?

Can 2\% of Elon musks wealth solve world hunger?

Earlier this week, CNN reported that the executive director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme said 2\% of Elon Musk’s wealth could solve world hunger.

Is anyone richer than Bezos?

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and its largest shareholder, is no longer the richest person in the world. As of Monday, Arnault is worth $186.3 billion, $300 million more than Jeff Bezos and more than Tesla chief executive Elon Musk’s $147.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Will world hunger ever end?

Can we end world hunger? Yes. 193 countries have signed an agreement committing to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.

Is Jeff Bezos the world’s first trillionaire climate philanthropist?

In February, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon who’s reportedly on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2026, pledged to give $10 billion to activists, scientists, and nonprofits to take on the climate crisis. Bezos joins the elite ranks of Mike Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, and Gates in popularizing so-called climate philanthropy.

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Is Jeff Bezos’ net worth $166 billion?

However, the upshot is that while Bezos is worth $166 billion, he doesn’t have easy access to that in spendable cash. And, unfortunately, you need to spend money to effect change. Still, let’s take the argument at its best case. Through some economic magic, Bezos fills up his current account with $166 billion.

What are the risks of billionaire do-gooders?

The risk is that people become dependent on billionaire do-gooders, much as in the Victorian era, taking care of the poor was seen as charity, not a fundamental responsibility of government. And even if they’re doing good things now, tycoons can stop or reverse course on a whim.

How much would it cost to end world hunger?

This indicates that achieving zero world hunger (see first row) would cost at least $2 trillion. Reducing the percentage of the global population in hunger from 10.7\% to 5\% would cost $520 billion, once you consider the impact of climate change. These costs are well beyond even Bezos’ net worth, no matter how you slice it.