Bill and Melinda Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, George Soros and Google are all spending big money on hunger, poverty and global warming. Soros is giving $50 billion to what's called the Millennium Promise, and two foundations--Gates and Rockefeller--have joined forces in a new Green Revolution designed to fight poverty in Africa by ending hunger. Supporters welcome a "golden age of philanthropy," but at least one skeptic calls it a "tournament of billionaires" full of potential pitfalls. The Green Revolution caused environmental problems in Asia and Latin America. Can that be avoided in Africa? Can well-intentioned assistance bypass corrupt and incompetent governments and get to the people who need it? Can philanthropy generate profits?
Can Billionaire Philanthropists Change the World?
Credits
Guests:
- John Otim - President of the Agricultural Council of Uganda
- Glyvyns Chinkhuntha - Executive Director of the Freedom Gardens in Dowa, Malawi
- Paul Schervish - Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, Boston College
- William Easterly - New York University - @bill_easterly