Elon Musk Offers US$6 Billion to End World Hunger, But There’s a Catch
Musk says he’ll donate $US6 billion to the UN’s anti-famine branch if it can prove it will “end world hunger”
Elon Musk, who is currently the world’s richest person, has made an unusual statement. In an interview, he stated that he would donate US$6 billion to end world hunger if the United Nations World Food Programme could meet his terms.
David Beasley, the Head of the UN’s World Food Programme, has been campaigning for the wealthiest people of the world to donate on a “one-time basis” so that the dire food shortages affecting tens of millions of people can be addressed.
In an interview with CNN, he said that if the world’s billionaires could give a combined” $6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them.”
“It is not complicated.”
Elon Musk on world hunger
Elon Musk said that if World Food Programme could detail exactly how the money would solve the problem, he would donate. On social media, he said, “If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.”
“It must be open-source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent.”
If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2021
There is no doubt that Elon Musk can afford it. His estimated worth is US$ 315 or AU$ 420 billion.
Mr. Beasley replied to Elon Musk by saying that he never claimed the donation would solve world hunger. He even blamed the “inaccurate” headline on CNN for the misunderstanding. He said that he meant that the money would “prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people on the brink of starvation”.
The Head of the UN’s World Food Programme offered to show Elon Musk “the plan, and open books” if he agreed to a meeting.
In 2020, the World Food Programme got the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts to end world hunger.
The WFP website states that it urgently need $US6.6 billion ($8.8 billion) to implement its “expertise, deep-field presence and operational scale to stop famine in its tracks, and steer people away from the edge of starvation”.
WFP lists conflict as one of the biggest causes of global famine, and states that Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Afghanistan are some of the countries most likely to be affected. It also says it addresses world famine through food assistance, rapid responses, and longer-term strategies.
In that year, it got US$ 8.4 billion (AU$ 11.2 billion) in donations but, it was US$5.3 billion (AU$ 7.1 billion) short of the requirements.
Elon Musk’s perspective on the world hunger issue is interesting. Let us see what comes next in this story.
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