While the poor get sick, Bill Gates just gets richer

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Increasingly, I see less information coming from the Gates Foundation. They don’t answer most of our questions. They don’t make their technical staff available for discussions with us when we’re trying to learn more about their technical strategy [on Covid] and how they’re prioritizing certain things.” Kate Elder (Senior Vaccines Policy Adviser to Doctors Without Borders)

It is safe to say that this last year has been tough on Canadians, and the global economic impact is worthy of some discussion. Where we have seen the most impact is when it comes to the loss of jobs, and the closing down of many small and medium businesses.

Most of the job or income losses have been due to being furloughed or people experiencing a reduction in their work hours. What is important to note is that these job and income losses were not experienced equally. Hispanic, low-income, and young individuals (between the ages of 18 and 24) had the highest rates of job and income loss compared to other racial/ethnic, income, and age groups.

In April 2020, Canada lost almost two million jobs, a record high, and reports indicate that Canadians with disabilities are struggling to make ends meet because of the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic remains a source of considerable financial risk, and as a community, we still have to watch for the possibility that the tough times many households and businesses are facing could lead to credit losses that ripple throughout the financial system.

You know who does not seem to not be having any financial woes; Bill Gates. I want to present some numbers to you that will provide some perspective on this topic.

According to an article written by The Nation.com (https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/bill-gates-investments-covid/)

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reported a $40 million stake in CureVac—one of dozens of investments the foundation reports having in companies working on Covid vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics or manufacturing.

This, along with some other information I am about to present, clearly shows that the world’s most visible charity, and one of the world’s most influential voices in the pandemic response, is in a position to potentially reap considerable financial gains from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the same article, James Love (Director of the NGO Knowledge Ecology International) spoke about the foundation’s decades of work on vaccines that allowed it to assert influence early in the pandemic.

“He had enough money and enough presence in the area for a long enough period of time to be positioned as the first mover and the most influential mover. So, people just relied upon his people and his institutions,” says Love, “In a pandemic, when there is a vacuum of leadership, people that move fast and seem to know what they’re doing, they just acquire a lot of power. And he did that in this case.”

Forbes has estimated Bill Gates’s private wealth at around $115 billion, and it has increased by more than $10 billion during the pandemic.

The Financial Express.com put out an article called, “Bill Gates making $200 billion from vaccines? Microsoft co-founder explains math behind ‘returns’ – (https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/bill-gates-making-200-billion-from-vaccines-microsoft-co-founder-explains-math-behind-returns/2092891/).

In the article, Gates explained that the $10 billion investment made by his foundation in global health organizations such as: Gavi, the Global Fund and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, allowed him to help provide vaccines, drugs, bed nets and other supplies in developing countries.

Hearing numbers like this does put certain things in perspective. With this pandemic, there are winners, and there are losers. On one end of the scale, one man has managed to increase his wealth by billions, while many people in communities across the globe are barely able to pay their rent.

I ask you readers, are you okay with this? For some of you the answer is, “This is just how the world works.” For others, you are reading this and thinking, “How does this make sense? How is it that the poor are getting sicker, and Bill Gates is getting richer?”