Ticket 2 Ride

Bill Gates is the subject of a lot of Internet hostility. Some people describe him as the devil, while others applaud his philanthropy. I have no real opinion, just a curiosity, so I did some digging to see what’s out there.

The BBC took a look at the differing of opinions about Bill Gates. The BBC interviewed Professor Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami and is the author of books on conspiracy theories. He believes it is simply because Gates is rich and famous, and goes with the territory. “Conspiracy theories are about accusing powerful people of doing terrible things,” he told the BBC. “The theories are basically the same, just the names change.

However:

More than a quarter of all Americans and 44% of Republicans believe that Bill Gates wants to use a Covid-19 vaccine to implant microchips under people’s skin, according to a survey from Yahoo News and YouGov. – BBC

Gates told the BBC, “I’m kind of surprised some of it is focused on me. We are just giving money away, we write the cheque.. and yes we do think about let’s protect children against disease but it is nothing to do with chips and that type of stuff. You almost have to laugh sometimes.”

Some of the reasons I found that people mention about not liking or trusting Gates:

• Making vaccines mandatory
• Implanting microchips into people
• Depopulating the globe
• Using third world countries to test dangerous drugs
• Uses wealth for access to world leaders
• His relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
• His vast land ownership
• Perceived control of the World Health Organization
• Ego
• Strong-armed business practices at Microsoft that wrecked other companies
• Frighteningly smart
• Making money from vaccine
• Shadowy actions, shielded behind lawyers, lobbyists and carefully constructed privacy

“Gates’ wealth coupled with his ties to Big Tech, his governmental contacts and his control of a major public health foundation give him the means to engage in and cover up untoward activities undetected,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania pointed out in an interview with USA Today.

“There are many parallels between COVID conspiracies around Bill Gates and theories about witches in the past. Both emerge in contexts of uncertainty as people confront inexplicable misfortune. Both attribute that misfortune to powerful, malicious figures who work through invisible means,” said Manvir Singh, research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France, also in an interview with USA Today.

Witches. Okay, that’s weird.

On Quora, there are reams and reams of threads on Gates. I know, not exactly the fountain of truth, but it’s a barometer of sorts. The opinions range the gamut from saint to Satan, and generally reference his predatory business practices or what he spends his wealth on. Here is a comment that represents a fairly common opinion was: “Unfortunately for us mere mortals Bill Gates belongs to a think tank of rich, quite powerful, very persuasive, global elite…However the means to achieving those goals are in actuality sinister. Evil acts have and will be committed in the aim of a positive outcome.”

Even some people who believe Gates has worthy goals criticize his methods. Too much wealth and power, they say. Pledging to give away most of his wealth does not change many opinions.

Bill Gates was always been an enigma to me: nerdy, ultra wealthy at a young age, regarded as an unfeeling technocrat, insulated, a carefully guarded image, and not always what he seems. Perhaps we are a bit jaded by those who own most of the world. America does not have an aristocracy. Or does it? Billionaires live an entitled life, and fascinate large segments of the public, i.e. Donald Trump.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is at the center of much of the Gates criticism. The Foundation has provided billions of dollars for health initiatives around the world and are mentioned in a variety of conspiracy theories involving vaccines. This charitable organization has also been accused of wanting to decrease the population of Third World countries instead of helping them. Microchips under the skin are another theory. There are lots of thoughts on their diabolical mission.

A few facts. Bill and Melinda Gates have given about $60 billion to the Foundation since 2000. Warren Buffet has contributed nearly $40 billion. Total grants since inception are nearly $78 billion. The Foundation is focused on global health, global development, and education. Empowering women and girls is one of Melinda French Gates’ priorities. The Foundation provides resources for many “boots on the ground” organizations.

There are critics of the immense power wielded by the Foundation. “Through its funding it also operates through an interconnected network of organizations and individuals across academia and the NGO and business sectors. This allows it to leverage influence through a kind of ‘group-think’ in international health,” said Dr David McCoy, a public health doctor and researcher at University College London and an advisor to the People’s Health Movement. 

Others say the Foundation isn’t accountable to anyone other than the board of directors. Why this might be important is the influence over public policy. Any huge donor, who employees lobbyists and strategists, gets access and flexes their influence. Whether a philanthropic, political, trade group, individual or corporation, money opens doors and power persuades. That’s the game, everywhere. Those who site the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as political influencers should also include the FoxNews Network, Citizens United, Americans for Prosperity, The Heritage Foundation, The American Legislative Exchange Council, Harlan Crow, among others.

Gates other Achilles Heel is a purported relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I had dinners with him, I regret doing that,” Gates told PBS’s Judy Woodruff. “He had relationships with people he said would give to global health, which is an interest I have and not nearly enough philanthropy goes in that direction.”

Gates is also purported to have engaged in an extramarital affair with a Russian woman who had ties to Epstein. The Epstein-Gates relationship, whatever it was, contributed to Melinda French Gates divorcing Gates.

Bill Gates is no saint, he’s a flawed person. His personal life is his own business; he doesn’t have to be liked to appreciate his philanthropic efforts. I don’t buy into the conspiracy theories, but having better oversight is not a bad idea. Money is too powerful a resource to simply trust where it goes and the hands that hold it.