I have been thinking from time to time how people like that can use their money for good.
On the one hand I'd say they could create lots of jobs; things that do good but whose intent are not to optimize for profit. Bringing back mom & pop local stores for example.
For his own company, increase wages and working conditions. Of course, in that case it's not up to him, it's up to the shareholders and they do optimize for profit.
Charity wise, it'd have to be very carefully done. I think Bill Gates is on the right path, but he's still one of the richest people in the world so I don't think he's spending much of his personal fortune in charity - yet. Not in such a way that it impacts his personal fortune, in any case.
There's some charities that are bottomless pits though, e.g. aid to Africa as another commenter mentioned. That stuff will only work if you spend so much money, you'd basically buy a country and - forcefully - take over the government. For one, that would cost more money than the richest people in the world have - government scale money, which is still much higher than corporation scale money. Second, that's a pretty dystopian idea, where corporations own countries and armies and such.
On the one hand I'd say they could create lots of jobs; things that do good but whose intent are not to optimize for profit. Bringing back mom & pop local stores for example.
For his own company, increase wages and working conditions. Of course, in that case it's not up to him, it's up to the shareholders and they do optimize for profit.
Charity wise, it'd have to be very carefully done. I think Bill Gates is on the right path, but he's still one of the richest people in the world so I don't think he's spending much of his personal fortune in charity - yet. Not in such a way that it impacts his personal fortune, in any case.
There's some charities that are bottomless pits though, e.g. aid to Africa as another commenter mentioned. That stuff will only work if you spend so much money, you'd basically buy a country and - forcefully - take over the government. For one, that would cost more money than the richest people in the world have - government scale money, which is still much higher than corporation scale money. Second, that's a pretty dystopian idea, where corporations own countries and armies and such.