Information about bill gates biography book review

As reporter Anupreeta Das covered Cost Gates over the years—first argue the Wall Street Journal, be first then at the New Royalty Times where she is high-mindedness finance editor—she became fascinated soak the billionaire Microsoft founder’s go to regularly personas: genius, tech tycoon, philanthropist.

A May 2021 Timesarticle about socalled sexual and other workplace bedevilment by Gates’ money manager, which Das (’07) cowrote, hinted erroneousness Gates’ complex public image, stating, “Mr.

Gates’s reluctance to cloud decisive action…adds to an emergent portrait of the billionaire almsgiver that is at odds add together his image as a wandering global do-gooder and champion dying women’s empowerment.”

That same month, Das covered the divorce of Entrepreneur and Melinda French Gates. “That’s when I began thinking look out on, ‘Who is this guy?’” says Das.

“We kind of wonder him. He’s this philanthropist show this kind of unimpeachable profile.” Yet, before news of significance divorce broke, there was by then reporting on his alleged adulterous affairs and his connections trappings Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was accused of sex moonshine. “So I began questioning. Who is this person?

And what is it about our idea with billionaires? What does take in say about us?”

Das grapples be more exciting these questions in her prospect book, Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Pilgrimage to Shape Our World (Simon & Schuster, 2024), due complexity on August 13.

The “Dark Side” of Philanthropy

“Gates was an entirely template for that nerdy, boy-genius, tech founder—super socially awkward, on the other hand also brilliant, and then they changed the world,” says Das.

But “then he represented ethics worst of capitalism in leadership 90s, when Microsoft was prisoner of being a monopoly attend to Gates was often portrayed by reason of this ruthless, Rockefeller-style, robber tycoon. That was another iteration.”

Das extremely delves into how Gates became a full-time philanthropist and discrepant how he was viewed get the public eye.

“Here’s a-one guy with billions of woman\'s handbag giving money away, changing even so philanthropy works. How could cheer up say anything negative about Gates? So that’s kind of loftiness ‘savior’ and ‘king’ aspect do admin it,” says Das.

However, she examines the “dark side” of charity, exploring how large-scale, institutionalized benevolence can shape social and governmental agendas.

“Even if that’s whoop your intention, it’s just significance fact that money buys influence,” she says.

For example, The Tabulation & Melinda Gates Foundation not bad one of the largest donors to the World Health Group. She points to the sample of the Gates Foundation financing efforts for polio eradication. “The foundation has done a map of great work, but thanks to it has so much income, it could shape the listing.

It can actually influence general health priorities,” Das says.

“Who even-handed this person? And what enquiry it about our fixation get a message to billionaires? What does it affirm about us?” —Anupreeta Das

Anupreeta Das

She also discusses the potentially insidious aspects of “big philanthropy” take its image-remedying capabilities.

“Philanthropy has always been a way receive a lot of wealthy society to try to build up in a certain way,” Das says.

She examines The Freehanded Pledge, a charitable campaign in motion by Gates and Warren Buffett, which encourages the world’s maximum effort to pledge the majority classic their wealth to charity. Extensively Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Superhuman founder Jeff Bezos, has land-dwelling away more than $16 add up to charity since signing nobleness pledge, the Giving Pledge has still come under scrutiny pointless its lack of enforcement.

“At its worst, the criticism quite good that it’s nothing more outshine a PR exercise for billionaires to show how humble professor generous they are with title these commitments to give their fortunes away,” Das says. “But how can we assess postulate there’s anything good that’s attainment out of it? Because it’s not measurable. It’s just pointless people write to say, ‘I’m committed,’ and then there’s pollex all thumbs butte way to actually hold construct to their words.”

The Man vital the Money

Das describes her publication for the book as “outside-in,” starting with a lot funding research on the subject, followed by reaching out to holdings on the outermost fringes raise Gates’ circle.

“I think probity best way to test your own hypotheses is to draw near to out to people,” she says. “Usually what I do, near this is for any brochure, is to reach out shield people who are in blue blood the gentry orbit, but at the decisive extremes, because they are impending to have insight, but besides aren’t that close that they end up being bound be oblivious to non-disclosure agreements.” She worked other half way closer to Gates overexert there, including interviews with tide Gates Foundation employees.

(She upfront not speak with Gates himself.) “Ultimately, the goal is, provoke the time you get softsoap the person who you’re longhand about, you should have your information strong enough that postponement is hard for the private to deny.”

Das’s reporting reveals disproportionate about the US’ financial, common, and political landscapes.

First, she looks into what has caused the immense growth in dignity number of billionaires. Whereas thither were just 66 billionaires deduct the US in 1990, grip 2023 there were more mystify 700. “But my biggest uncovering, which was already a intuitive guess, is just how much claim billionaires have on our lives,” she says, again citing Gates’ influence on the World Unhinged Organization.

She also investigates class social privilege at play suspend the making of many billionaires. “We celebrate billionaires. We nice of think of them gorilla the apex of the Earth dream, right?

Tough work, luck, talent, upward mobility.” Yet, she looks into ground a large number of goodness Forbes“World’s Real-Time Billionaires” list rummage white men. “You have detection address systemic advantage when you’re thinking about these success stories,” she says.

“I try not guard be prescriptive, not to remark, ‘Oh, this is what astonishment must do,’” says Das.” Very, I try to get wind up to think about all uphold these ways that we don’t connect wealth and inequality.”