4 ms·

If you're right, then I'd say that it's still trivially outweighed by the Gates Foundation's efforts on disease reduction. Each billion dollars spent fighting m

by pjscott 11y ago

If you're right, then I'd say that it's still trivially outweighed by the Gates Foundation's efforts on disease reduction. Each billion dollars spent fighting malaria buys a whole lot of indulgences.

visarga 11y ago
Also, he is giving back the money he took, and then more. That also buys him a lot of forgiveness.
- mrep 11y ago
  What money did he "take"?
  - paganel 11y ago
    At least $200 million or so from my Government, the result of straight-up corruption. From here http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/technology/us-said-to-look-into-microsoft-bribery-allegations.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/technology/us-said-to-look...: > The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have both opened preliminary investigations into bribery accusations involving Microsoft in China, Italy and Romania, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is a confidential legal matter. The article is 3-year old and of course nothing came out of it, but based on the very happy coincidence that our Government signed a big contract with MS just days after Ballmer had paid a quick visit to our God-forsaken country back in 2004 and that the PM at the time was a corrupt guy (who later on went to prison for other stuff) I'm 100% sure that MS (and Gates) actually took that money out of our pockets.
    - forgetsusername 11y ago
      >I'm 100% sure that MS (and Gates) actually took that money out of our pockets. So, Microsoft, which was headed by Ballmer at the time (Gates already years into retirement from operations), took a contract from your corrupt government, that might have broken a law (never proven)...and Bill Gates is to blame? You have a lot of misplaced anger.
      - paganel 11y ago
        Bill Gates also visited the country shortly after Ballmer's visit and after the contract had been signed. Yes, Bill Gates is to blame, among many others. > You have a lot of misplaced anger. I'm angered by many other things some of which I have control over, economic colonialism (like it happened in this case) I have no control over so no reason to be angered about. Just wanted to add a different perspective to things.
- saretired 11y ago
  Not to diminish the magnitude of his foundation, but he's still personally worth over $77 billion and is the richest person in the US (Forbes, 2015).
  - mike2477 11y ago
    But he's promised to give it all away within 10 years of his death. So this is a null point.
- adventured 11y ago
  Gates didn't take his wealth, he created it and earned it. Having a monopoly isn't illegal in the US. Making billions of dollars with a monopoly is not illegal in the US. The abuses in the market that Microsoft was found guilty of, they were punished for. What else are you asking for exactly? Gates doesn't need any forgiveness. His former company's wrongs have already been accounted for - a long time ago - through an appropriate legal process.
  - sametmax 11y ago
    No but corruption is illegal. Stealing is illegal. And many things he did while legal, were highly immoral, such as: lying, cheating, investing capital in weapon makers and companies doing the opposite of what he is defending now, tax optimization, heavy lobying, retaining a huge part of capital and not letting it flows in the economy, abusing monopoly, patent trolls (and other kind of extorsions), censorship, helping dictatures, etc. He earned a lot of money doing so, and the cumulated consequences of those are huge. The fact that people are so quick to forgive and forget those prove that not only he got top noch PR people, but that people are ready to accept anything with a good PR. Sometimes I wonder if humanity deserve freedom, because it seems it's wired to go in the exact opposite direction and love to allow bad people to shine. Democracy is a long term process, not a 5 minutes vote. It requires you to not allow those persons to mess with the system, then get your blessing years later.
    - forgetsusername 11y ago
      >were highly immoral Your profile says you blog about porn. Personally, I'm a consumer and have no issue. But you have a lot of nerve lecturing people about immorality. That isn't the most "above board" industry, and it may have even harmed a person or three. >but that people are ready to accept anything with a good PR. Yeah, nobody "gets it" but you...
      - sametmax 11y ago
        A lot of men watch porn, few men corrupt governments and finance weapons. Your take.

by pjscott 11y ago

If you're right, then I'd say that it's still trivially outweighed by the Gates Foundation's efforts on disease reduction. Each billion dollars spent fighting malaria buys a whole lot of indulgences.

visarga 11y ago

Also, he is giving back the money he took, and then more. That also buys him a lot of forgiveness.

mrep 11y ago
What money did he "take"?
- paganel 11y ago
  At least $200 million or so from my Government, the result of straight-up corruption. From here http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/technology/us-said-to-look-into-microsoft-bribery-allegations.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/technology/us-said-to-look...: > The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have both opened preliminary investigations into bribery accusations involving Microsoft in China, Italy and Romania, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is a confidential legal matter. The article is 3-year old and of course nothing came out of it, but based on the very happy coincidence that our Government signed a big contract with MS just days after Ballmer had paid a quick visit to our God-forsaken country back in 2004 and that the PM at the time was a corrupt guy (who later on went to prison for other stuff) I'm 100% sure that MS (and Gates) actually took that money out of our pockets.
  - forgetsusername 11y ago
    >I'm 100% sure that MS (and Gates) actually took that money out of our pockets. So, Microsoft, which was headed by Ballmer at the time (Gates already years into retirement from operations), took a contract from your corrupt government, that might have broken a law (never proven)...and Bill Gates is to blame? You have a lot of misplaced anger.
    - paganel 11y ago
      Bill Gates also visited the country shortly after Ballmer's visit and after the contract had been signed. Yes, Bill Gates is to blame, among many others. > You have a lot of misplaced anger. I'm angered by many other things some of which I have control over, economic colonialism (like it happened in this case) I have no control over so no reason to be angered about. Just wanted to add a different perspective to things.
saretired 11y ago
Not to diminish the magnitude of his foundation, but he's still personally worth over $77 billion and is the richest person in the US (Forbes, 2015).
- mike2477 11y ago
  But he's promised to give it all away within 10 years of his death. So this is a null point.
adventured 11y ago
Gates didn't take his wealth, he created it and earned it. Having a monopoly isn't illegal in the US. Making billions of dollars with a monopoly is not illegal in the US. The abuses in the market that Microsoft was found guilty of, they were punished for. What else are you asking for exactly? Gates doesn't need any forgiveness. His former company's wrongs have already been accounted for - a long time ago - through an appropriate legal process.
- sametmax 11y ago
  No but corruption is illegal. Stealing is illegal. And many things he did while legal, were highly immoral, such as: lying, cheating, investing capital in weapon makers and companies doing the opposite of what he is defending now, tax optimization, heavy lobying, retaining a huge part of capital and not letting it flows in the economy, abusing monopoly, patent trolls (and other kind of extorsions), censorship, helping dictatures, etc. He earned a lot of money doing so, and the cumulated consequences of those are huge. The fact that people are so quick to forgive and forget those prove that not only he got top noch PR people, but that people are ready to accept anything with a good PR. Sometimes I wonder if humanity deserve freedom, because it seems it's wired to go in the exact opposite direction and love to allow bad people to shine. Democracy is a long term process, not a 5 minutes vote. It requires you to not allow those persons to mess with the system, then get your blessing years later.
  - forgetsusername 11y ago
    >were highly immoral Your profile says you blog about porn. Personally, I'm a consumer and have no issue. But you have a lot of nerve lecturing people about immorality. That isn't the most "above board" industry, and it may have even harmed a person or three. >but that people are ready to accept anything with a good PR. Yeah, nobody "gets it" but you...
    - sametmax 11y ago
      A lot of men watch porn, few men corrupt governments and finance weapons. Your take.