Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, says he will sell $ 6 billion worth of Tesla shares and donate the proceeds to the United Nations food agency if it could show how money would solve world hunger.
His statement came after UN World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley challenged Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires in an interview on CNN last week, asking them to step forward “in one fell swoop” to help end hunger.
In the interview, Beasley said that billionaires could give “$ 6 billion to help 42 million people who are literally going to die if we don’t get to them.” “It’s not complicated,” he said.
David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program.
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2% of Musk’s fortune
That money would be roughly 2% of Musk’s fortune, nearly $ 300 billion, according to Forbes. His wealth and that of many American billionaires has grown rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to rising stocks and home equity, even more than before the virus hit.
The SpaceX founder posted on Twitter on Sunday: “If WFP can describe in this Twitter thread exactly how $ 6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla shares right now and do it.”
Musk calls for open accounting
“But it must be open accounting, so that the public can see precisely how the money is being spent,” he added.
In 2020, the agency received $ 8.4 billion in donations, which it says was a shortfall of $ 5.3 billion compared to its needs. Its main donors include the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Beasley responded to Musk on Twitter, writing that $ 6 billion will not solve world hunger, “but it will prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people from the brink of starvation.” An unprecedented crisis and a perfect storm due to the Covid / conflict / climate crises. ”
He also offered to meet with Musk on Earth – or in space – to discuss the issue and explain how the richest man on the planet could help alleviate world hunger, saying it would be preferable to exchanging tweets on the subject.
“Please post your current and proposed spending in detail so people can see exactly where the money is going,” Musk said in a reply on Twitter. “Sunlight is a wonderful thing.”
It was unclear Monday whether a meeting will be scheduled.
FEW (AP, Bloomberg)
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