With ugly post-divorce accusations about Bill Gates multiplying, it’s fair to ask why the billionaire accumulated social stature with his fortune.
When you’re the world’s richest man, as Bill Gates was almost every year from 1995 to 2017, you’re going to generate a lot of envy.
When you’re the world’s richest man, and during a TED Talk about malaria you release mosquitos to demonstrate that the poor shouldn’t only be the only ones worried about the disease, people may start to fear that you’re becoming a supervillain. (The mosquitos did not have malaria.)
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and your company has extensive contracts with the Chinese government, and you declare in April 2020 that it’s not the right time to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic began, you’re going to generate some fierce critics.
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and you go on television and opine that the U.S. had “reacted poorly” to the virus, whereas “China did a lot of things right,” you’re going to make some enemies.
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and you call for keeping bars and restaurants closed for longer periods of time during a pandemic, you’re going to make some more enemies.
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and you announce to the world that you are “committed to listening and learning more about systemic racism and what I can do with my actions and words to help create a more equal and just future,” and your company’s workforce is 4.4 percent black, people will start to think that you’re oblivious, wildly hypocritical, disingenuous or all of the above.
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and you have probably eaten plenty of fine beef over the course of your lifetime, and you declare, “all rich countries should move to 100 percent synthetic beef,” you’re going to make even more enemies.
When your big proposal to deal with future pandemics relies upon the Chinese government being honest and straightforward with the world from here on out, people may start to think you’re not as smart or perceptive as your massive fortune suggests you are.
When you’re one of the world’s richest men, and you announce you’re getting divorced, some people will chuckle at the vivid demonstration that money cannot buy happiness, or a happy marriage.
And when you’re one of the world’s richest men, and after the announcement of your divorce, reports emerge that you took marital advice from your buddy Jeffrey Epstein, that your company had to deal with your inappropriate workplace relationships and harassment claims… people may wonder why you ever accumulated social stature and perceived authority with your fortune.