It was 2018, when the Bill Gates into a a prophetic warning had said that in the next 10 to 15 years a pandemic would kill up to 30 million people. And those words, now few remember them today, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. "Prophet" or not, the second richest man in the world, has an ability to predict.
And it is no coincidence that even when the coronavirus was in its infancy in China and the rest of the planet was whistling indifferently, he was stressing that we should be worried. In fact, at the end of February, he had described the coronavirus as a "pandemic" before the WHO officially declared it.
The co-founder of Microsoft with articles on interventions, writes about the coronavirus, while in these difficult days when the planet is being tested, he also offers with donations. But he is not the only croissant. Many of the world's most powerful people make donations and donate money for medical equipment, masks, antiseptics and whatever else is needed.
Of course, there is the other side of the coin, with a typical example Elon Musk, who in early March and before the US and especially New York, "hit" by the virus, considered this panic "stupid". In fact, he had told his employees that they were more likely to die in a car accident than from the coronavirus.
In 2000, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help improve global health and combat extreme poverty. The foundation announced on February 5 that it would donate $ 100 million to find treatments and vaccines against coronavirus, and later offered $ 5 million to support the state of Washington.
The Chinese billionaire and co-founder of the Alibaba giant, Jack Ma donated two million masks to Europe and 500.000 coronavirus tests as well as one million masks and antiseptics to the United States, while urging the international community to work together to combat this health crisis. It also offered 1 million tests for the coronavirus, six million masks and 60.000 protective suits in Africa.
The CEO of airbnb, Brian Chesky - which is one of the companies that has been severely affected by the coronavirus - announced that it will help hosts around the world, except China, with $ 250 million to reduce the losses they record. As for Airbnb guests, with bookings before March 14, they will still be able to cancel and receive either 100% of the amount they paid or an equivalent travel credit.
The Anieli family donated 10 million euros to the Italian Department of Civil Protection to deal with the national emergency due to the dramatic spread of the coronavirus, and to the La Stampa - Specchio dei Tempi Foundation, which is committed to meeting the needs of Turin and Piedmont.
The French billionaire (and husband of Salma Hagek) François - Henri Pino Kering's family (Gucci, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, etc.) donated $ 1 million to the Red Cross Foundation in Hubei Province, China, where the COVID-19.
He also made a € 2 million donation to healthcare facilities across Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany and Lazio, which are plagued by the coronavirus. And he did not stay there, after announcing at the end of March that they would purchase 3 million masks from China in order to donate them to the French health authorities. Also, the French laboratories of Balenciaga and Yves Saint Lauren will start making masks as soon as the manufacturing process is approved and the materials are approved by the competent authorities.
And the Italian Benetton did not remain inactive in the very difficult times that Italy is going through. Thus, he proceeded with a donation of 3 million euros to four hospitals, in Treviso, in Milan and in Rome.
The French billionaire and owner of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Christian Dior etc.) Bernard Arno announced that three of the company's perfume plants will proceed with the production of hand sanitizers, in an effort to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Thus, instead of producing the famous Givenchy and Christian Dior perfumes, these factories will produce 12 tons of disinfectant as soon as possible.
At the beginning of February, Bernard Arno made a donation of $ 2,3 million to the Chinese Red Cross.
The French giant L'Oreal, also announced that it is proceeding with the production of hand sanitizers, as it is one of the most important "weapons" in reducing coronavirus. In fact, as the company explained, hand sanitizers and other hygiene items will be distributed to hospitals across Europe, for the best possible protection of the people who work in them.
The Group also shows solidarity with food distributors, supplying and distributing millions of antiseptic hand pieces free of charge to all European food distributors with whom it cooperates.
The richest man in the world announced via Twitter that he is offering the sum of 100 million dollars to the American food distribution charity "Feeding America". As explained by Jeff Bezos, the non-profit company focusing on food security, will quickly distribute the funds through its national network of food banks and canteens, bringing food to "those countless families who need it"
And mr. Facebook was not left out. In mid-March, the Mark Zuckerbergannounced that it is offering $ 20 million to deal with the pandemic. As he explained, the company will allocate $ 10 million to the World Health Organization and another $ 10 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. Also earlier this month, it announced that it would offer free WHO ads on its platform as part of its efforts to combat fake coronavirus.
Media billionaire Michael Bloomberg launches $ 40 million initiative to prevent or slow down its spread COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries.
The tech giant that bears his name has donated $ 284.000 (2 million yuan) to provide medical supplies such as surgical masks to hospitals in China. Dell also donated $ 853.000 (6 million yuan) in IT services to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Hubei Province, China. The company has also allocated $ 3 million in funds and technology donations in kind to help address the issue. COVID-19 worldwide.
And while the crusaders of the planet have been making offers and donations since the beginning of March, recognizing that the coronavirus is the "invisible enemy" with which we are at war, the founder of the space company SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, initially considered all this panic… "stupid". And ook a few times he provoked with his attitude and his views, through social media.
For example, while in the beginning (and before the general ban) one company after another was encouraging teleworking, he told his employees that they were more likely to die in a car accident than from the coronavirus! Also in another of his tweets - particularly irresponsible - claimed that "Children are virtually unaffected by the coronavirus".
However, albeit belatedly, Musk recently announced that Tesla is ready to ship ventilators to hospitals in all the countries in which it operates. And that the costs of manufacturing and transporting the ventilators will be fully covered by the company, provided that the devices are used directly by patients who need them and are not stored in warehouses.