Elon Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of $311 billion, said he will sell his Tesla stock to end world hunger if the United Nations can provide evidence showing it could solve the crisis and how the money will be spent.
The founder and chief executive of electric carmaker Tesla and SpaceX was responding to David Beasley, the director of the UN's World Food Programme, who said in a CNN interview on October 26 that only a small percentage of Mr Musk’s wealth could help solve world hunger.
Mr Beasley specifically called for action from Mr Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the two men who lead the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Billionaires need to “step up now, on a one-time basis”, Mr Beasley said. “$6bn to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated."
There was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020, the United Nations said in July – much of it likely related to the fallout of Covid-19. Around a tenth of the global population – up to 811 million people – were undernourished last year, according to a multi-agency report. The number suggests it will take a tremendous effort for the world to honour its pledge to end hunger by 2030.
If the WFP, using transparent and open accounting, “can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it”, Mr Musk wrote in a Twitter post on October 31.
“But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent,” he said.
In response to Mr Musk's tweet, the Mr Beasley tweeted on the same day that $6bn would not solve world hunger. This is a one-time donation to save 42 million lives during this unprecedented hunger crisis, he said.
“We need $6bn plus NOW on top of our existing funding requirements due to the perfect storm from the compounding impact of Covid, conflict and climate shocks,” Mr Beasley tweeted.
We need $6bn plus NOW on top of our existing funding requirements due to the perfect storm from the compounding impact of Covid, conflict and climate shocks
David Beasley,
director of the UN World Food Programme
However, Mr Musk asked Mr Beasley to publish the WFP’s current and proposed spending in detail “so people can see exactly where money goes”.
Many US billionaires have donated generously to help halt the spread of Covid-19 and lessen its effects. MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Mr Bezos, gave away $5.8bn in grants to 500 groups across the US last year, Forbes said.
Billionaire Warren Buffett donated $4.1bn worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to charity in June. “Society has a use for my money; I don’t,” Mr Buffett said at the time.
He is, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, a co-founder of the Giving Pledge, a campaign that encourages billionaire philanthropy.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has worked on initiatives such as fighting infectious diseases and encouraging vaccinations for children. The foundation committed $1.75bn over two years for pandemic relief.
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $330m in Covid-19-related funding, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg pledged at least $100m, Forbes said.
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros committed more than $130m through his foundation to combat the effects of the coronavirus in April last year.
Similarly, talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey pledged $12m through the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation in support of Covid-19 relief efforts for underserved communities in May last year.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
Company%20Profile
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
INDIA%20SQUAD
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Read more about the coronavirus
