Not good use of money…: Bill Gates criticises Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos space travel initiatives
1 min read . Updated: 06 Feb 2023, 10:23 PM IST
Premium- It's actually quite expensive to go to Mars. You can buy measles vaccines and save lives for $1,000 (£814) per life saved, Bill Gates said
Taking a dig at Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos's space travel initiatives, billionaire Bill Gates said that he would rather pay for vaccines than travelling to Mars. He also pointed out that spending money on ‘space travel’ is not exactly a good use of money.
"It's actually quite expensive to go to Mars. You can buy measles vaccines and save lives for $1,000 (£814) per life saved," he told the BBC and added, "And so [that] just kind of grounds you, as in - don't go to Mars."
Musk's rocket company SpaceX, which was established in 2002, has spent a massive amount of money to send crews to Mars with a plan to colonize it in the coming years. Bezos has also joined in the endeavour with an aerospace company Blue Origin.
However, he praised Musk for his other venture - Tesla. He said, "things like Tesla are having a positive impact even without being a form of philanthropy"
Gates also told BBC that he doesn't believe that the SpaceX CEO will spend most of his fortune on himself. “someday I think he will join the rank of philanthropists," he told the outlet."
The Microsoft co-founder spent, who was listed as the world's richest person in the world, has donated most of his wealth towards philanthropic causes. He now divides his time between climate change, and eradicating malnutrition and diseases such as polio and malaria.
On the question of whether he is frugal in his personal life, he said: "I don't have a gigantic closet. I don't wear jewellery. When I'm unwrapping a present, I don't take the wrapping and fold it up and use it again. My grandmother never threw a paper bag in her life or any string on a package. So by her standards, I'm crazy."
Gates divorced his wife, Melinda, in May 2021. When asked if he would like to find love again, he said: "Sure, I'm not a robot."
