The director of the United Nations’ World Food Program says that a fraction of the net worth of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals on a one-time basis could help solve world hunger – “it’s not complicated.”
A fraction of Elon Musk’s and Jeff Bezos’ wealth with a one-time donation could solve human food scarcity, according to UN
The director of the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley, said that the handful of the world’s richest individuals could solve world hunger with a one-time, donation that amounts to a fraction of their net worth, CNN reported.
In particular, Beasley said the wealth of two of the world’s richest individuals alone, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, could make a significant impact.
Tesla value surges to $1 trillion, Musk’s wealth reaches $36 billion
On Monday, following the announcement that rental car company Hertz was purchasing 100,000 vehicles from Tesla, the market cap of the electric vehicle automaker soared to $1 trillion, NPR reported. Elon Musk’s net worth rose by another $36 billion as Tesla’s stock surged, Insider reported. The likely revenue for Tesla this year is $51.1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Solving world hunger: “It’s not complicated”
Beasley said that billionaires need to “step up now, on a one-time basis.”
“$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them,” Beasley said. “It’s not complicated.”
Beasley says just 2% of Elon Musk’s wealth alone could make a huge difference.
UN on food program: “We’re out of cash.”
Beasley highlighted how organizations, such as the WFP, are struggling to get supplies to those in need in Ethiopia, where he estimates 5.2 million people are in urgent need of food assistance.
“I don’t know where they’re getting the food from,” Beasley said. “We’re out of fuel. We’re out of cash, in terms of paying our people and we are running out of money and we can’t get our trucks in.”
Wealth of America’s billionaires nearly doubled during pandemic
According to progressive groups Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness, The net worth of US billionaires has almost doubled since the pandemic began, standing at $5.04 trillion in October, while at the same time, coupled with natural disasters, it has brought hunger in humanitarian crises around the world.
According to a UN WFP report released this week, 22.8 million people in Afghanistan – half its population – face an acute hunger crisis.
The 10 wealthiest Americans
As of October 26, the total net worth of Elon Musk was $287 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the richest individual in the world. The second-wealthiest was Jeff Bozo at $196 billion, while Bill Gates ranked fourth in the world (#3 in US) at $134 billion and Larry Page was fifth (#4 in US) with $124 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg ranked seventh in the world (#6 in US) with $118 billion, followed by Larry Ellison $115 billion, Steve Ballmer $111 billion, and Warren Buffett at #10 in the world/#9 in the US with $106 billion. Jim Walton is the tenth wealthiest in the US (#15 in the world) at $66.4 billion.
