The Bill Gates Problem

From greedy to generous, from cold- to kind-hearted, from rogue to hero, Bill Gates is an extraordinarily complex public figure. Yet over the last decade, we''ve reduced him to a flat caricature - a sweater-wearing, avuncular, well-meaning billionaire, who is adamantly giving away all of his money through the Gates Foundation in order to improve the lives of others. This simplistic portrait perilously ignores the political influence that Gates has acquired through his charitable work, and the controversial ways through which he utilises it. We might like to think of the Foundation as an innocent charity giving away money, collaborating with stakeholders, and listening to the desires of the populations it hopes to help, but is that how it works in practice? The charity internally sets a policy agenda for how to fix the world - based apparently on one man''s worldview - then arguably seeks to impose this vision onto the developing world by funding groups that align with it. Combining rich storytelling and ground-breaking reporting, The Bill Gates Problem offers readers a provocative and timely counter-narrative about one of the world''s most widely recognized individuals - a true global celebrity with a truly global audience. But more than that, this book speaks to a vital political question around economic inequality and the erosion of democratic institutions - why should the super-rich be able to transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they go?

Autorentext
Tim Schwab is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. His 2019 investigation into the Gates Foundation won multiple awards, including an Izzy from the Park Center for Independent Media and a Deadline Club Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and was nominated for a Pulitzer prize by The Nation newspaper. His reporting on Gates has appeared in The Nation, the Columbia Journalism Review and the British Medical Journal, and represents some of the only investigative journalism ever published on Gates. Earlier in his career, Tim worked as a journalist for two daily newspapers and as a researcher for the watchdog group Food & Water Watch.

Klappentext

*A NEW YORK TIMES* EDITORS' CHOICE

'Nobody who comes away from reading The Bill Gates Problem will look at him in the same way' The Times**

You know him as the founder of Microsoft; the philanthropic, kind-hearted billionaire who has donated endless funds to good causes around the world. But there's another side to Bill Gates.

In this fearless, groundbreaking investigation, Tim Schwab offers readers a counter-narrative, one where Gates has used his monopolistic approach in business to amass a stunning level of control over public policy, scientific research and the news media. Whether he is pushing new educational standards in America, health reforms in India or industrialized agriculture in Africa, Gates's unbridled social experimentation has shown itself to be not only undemocratic, but also ineffective.

All of which begs the question: why should the super rich be able to transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they go?

'An extraordinary and detailed work of investigative journalism' The Telegraph