Is Bill Gates signaling the end of a ‘major chapter in climate giving’ as ‘billionaires are pulling (climate) support at an alarming rate’?
In recent decades, billionaires like Bill Gates positioned themselves as key players in combating climate change, funding green initiatives and influencing policy through organizations like Breakthrough Energy. By the early 2020s, they drove ethical consumption trends and supported major U.S. climate legislation.
However, many, including Gates, are now retracting support. Breakthrough Energy recently closed its policy office, laying off staff and likely halting grants, a blow to climate nonprofits. This shift coincides with billionaires like Gates, Elon Musk, and others aligning with Donald Trump’s second presidency, prioritizing profit over progress.
- Bill Gates – Microsoft founder, sixth richest man in the world, involved in Breakthrough Energy and the Global Fund.
- Donald Trump – Billionaire real estate mogul, former and returning U.S. President.
- Mark Zuckerberg – Tech baron, associated with aligning with Trump’s administration.
- Jeff Bezos – Tech baron, also noted for embracing Trump’s administration.
- Sundar Pichai – Tech baron, similarly shifting toward Trump’s administration.
- Elon Musk – Tech billionaire, is explicitly mentioned as shedding progressive stances for Trump’s administration.
These individuals are highlighted for their wealth, influence, and shifting priorities, particularly in relation to climate change and political alignments.
Gates’ past actions—boosting vaccine rates via the Global Fund while driving up medicine costs, withholding COVID vaccines from poor nations, and ties to Jeffrey Epstein—reveal a pattern of self-interest. Far from saviors, billionaires leveraged climate activism for influence, never intending to solve the crisis.
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