London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Bill Gates says Elon Musk not yet a 'great philanthropist,' calls going to Mars a waste of money

Bill Gates says Elon Musk not yet a 'great philanthropist,' calls going to Mars a waste of money

The Microsoft founder said paying for vaccines is a 'more pressing' matter

Bill Gates took a few jabs at fellow billionaire Elon Musk in a new interview, saying he does not view the Tesla CEO as a "great philanthropist" at this point while dismissing the SpaceX founder's efforts to go to Mars as a waste of money.

The BBC asked the Microsoft co-founder in a recent sit-down whether he believes Musk will ever join the club of mega-rich donors like Gates, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos in pledging to give away most of their wealth.


Bill Gates attends the 2022 TIME100 Gala on June 08, 2022 in New York City. The Microsoft co-founder took a few shots at fellow billionaire Elon Musk in a recent interview.


"Yeah, I think someday he'll be a great philanthropist," Gates said of Musk, conceding, "Obviously, you know, things like Tesla are having a positive impact — even without being a form of philanthropy."

"But at the end of the day, I don't think he'll — other than going to Mars a few times … I don't think he'll spend it on himself," Gates continued. "So yeah, someday I think he will join the rank of philanthropists using his ingenuity."

Gates told BBC interviewer Amol Rajan that he does not believe Musk's mission to colonize the Red Planet is a good use of funds, saying providing vaccines to people in need should be a higher priority.

"It's actually quite expensive to go to Mars," Gates said. "You can buy measles vaccines and save lives for $1,000 per life saved, and so it just sort of grounds you, as in — don't go to Mars."

Musk and Gates have been at odds in the past.

Last year, Musk confirmed he turned Gates down on an offer to collaborate on philanthropic efforts to combat climate change, after leaked texts between the two showed Musk telling Gates he can't take him "seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change."

A short position is a bet against a stock.

Musk then trolled Gates with a vulgar tweet comparing a photo of the Microsoft co-founder to a pregnant man emoji. Musk later said he was "moving on from making fun of Gates for shorting Tesla while claiming to support climate change action."
Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. 


But since then, Gates has also praised Musk, and said publicly that the Tesla CEO should not be underestimated following his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.

"You wouldn't want to underestimate Elon. What he did at Tesla is amazing, helping with climate change, what he did at SpaceX," Gates told the "Today" show in May 2022. "Will he, this time, make that improvement? … Elon thinks he can improve Twitter. Well, I don't know specifically what he'll do, but there's an opportunity and we need innovation in that space."

Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Yes the devil gates enjoys making vaxxs that kill and harm people in Africa instead. I believe it is Nigeria that has a arrest warrant out for him

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×