Bill Gates has railed against being ‘a subject of misinformation’ and warned that humanity must do more to fight climate change – despite owning four private jets.
The Microsoft founder, who has struggled to live down a previous association with Jeffrey Epstein, made the comments during an appearance on NBC’s Today program to promote his new Netflix series about AI, misinformation and malaria.
‘I’m very lucky I get to work on A.I. I get to work on global health,’ Gates, 68, said while speaking about the show, The Future With Bill Gates.
‘Misinformation is the one where, you know, I have been a subject of misinformation. I talked to Lady Gaga who had it maybe even worse.’
Pop icon Gaga features on Gates’ new show – where she shares her thoughts about rumors during the early days of her career that she was secretly a man.
Gates, who owns a fleet of four private jets, was also pressed about climate change during the interview with Today.
When asked whether his grandchildren had accelerated his urgency to ‘fix things’ regarding the climate crisis, he said: ‘Oh, definitely.
‘My first grandchild is actually here in New York City and couldn’t be cuter. She’s about one or so now.
‘And we’re not making enough progress, you know, and the damage kind of accumulates over time.
‘So the need to innovate – I met a lot of young activists who are really harsh about, you know, we’re not doing enough I found that, you know, inspiring and motivating.’
‘There are almost too many causes right now,’ added Gates, whose current net worth is an estimated $138.6 billion.
‘You’ve got wars, you’ve got interest payments, it’s a time where making sure we pick the right things and set our priorities will be challenging but important.’
Gates was not asked about his own imprint on the planet through his usage of fossil-fuel guzzling private jets – something he has previously defended by citing his efforts to decrease his carbon footprint in other ways.
The tech tycoon previously told the BBC he was ‘not part of the problem’ because of the amount of money he pays Climeworks – a company which, for a monthly fee, offsets carbon emissions.
Gates also spoke about AI, revealing that he uses the technology to summarize a meeting or book that he doesn’t have time to read, and even to draft speeches.
‘It can even write poems and songs in a way that is surprisingly creative,’ he said.
‘It’s so powerful, it’s the first technology that is happening very quickly, and there’s no limit,’ Gates added.
The Microsoft founder has also been linked to Jeffrey Epstein – not least through a book released this summer which claims he was once ‘the brightest star’ in the financier’s orbit.
Epstein had set his sights on Gates in 2010 when he and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett launched The Giving Pledge, a charitable campaign under which they vowed to donate 99 percent of their wealth.
To Epstein, their charitable initiative was a potential new ‘way to make money’ and restore his public image, according to new biography, Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World.
It would allow Epstein to launder his reputation after his 2008 conviction for procuring underaged girls saw him serve a brief stint in jail and made him a registered sex offender.
In the book, which was released August 13, New York Times journalist Anupreeta Das writes that Epstein then began to ‘tunnel his way into Gates’s orbit’ with spectacular results.
The two men became friends as they worked on a health fund for billionaires with Gates even calling Epstein ‘my buddy’.
Epstein’s outrageous lifestyle was an ‘adventure’ for nerdy Gates who chafed at his overscheduled life married to a wife committed to monogamy, Das writes.
Emails between the two men even referred to Gates visiting one of Epstein’s homes for ‘Big Macs’, which some took to mean young girls.
Gates, 68, denies most of the accusations in the book, saying Das relied ‘almost exclusively on second- and third-hand hearsay and anonymous sources’.
Gates’ ex-wife Melinda has said that Bill’s work with Epstein – who she branded ‘abhorrent’ – ultimately led to their divorce.