Podcast
Pivot
The author, Anupreeta Das, explained how Bill Gates's public persona has shifted from an entitled hero to a somewhat villain and every shade in between over the years, discussing his evolution and the role of the Gates Foundation.
Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King, Bill Gates and His Quest, Shape Our World.
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Episode: The Politics of Joy, Telegram CEO Arrested, and Gu...
The author, Anupreeta Das, explained how Bill Gates's public persona has shifted from an entitled hero to a somewhat villain and every shade in between over the years, discussing his evolution and the role of the Gates Foundation.
Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King, Bill Gates and His Quest, Shape Our World.
So the Bill Gates persona has changed so much over the years and trust me, I've been there for all of it, from boy genius to tech entrepreneur to philanthropist and such.
The Gates Foundation is so enormous that it has a lot of influence around the globe. And we don't really see that in the US because they've played mostly in charter schools, but they are one of the biggest donors to the WHO. They have billions to spend on vaccines, on polio, on malaria.
If you think about in 2000, he was very much the villain, the guy who was Rockefeller equivalent, this alleged monopolist, Darth Vader, every kind of popular culture villain, he was that.
So there's these fights that all ties into what your policy preferences are. And the same thing with campaign finance, right? You look at the Koch network and so they're buying influence in many ways, but they also have cultural influence.
Episode: The Politics of Joy, Telegram CEO Arrested, and Gu...
Anupreeta Das, a New York Times journalist, spoke about her new book, *Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World*, which discusses how Bill Gates has shape-shifted over the years. She shared that Gates was very unlikeable for much of the time she covered him and always difficult, but always interesting.
And our friend at Pivot is New York Times journalist, Anupreetha Das. She's got a new book, *Billionaire, Nerds, Savior, King, Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World*.
So the Bill Gates persona has changed so much over the years and trust me, I've been there for all of it, from boy genius to tech entrepreneur to philanthropist and such. And you say in the book that he switched between an entitled hero and somewhat a villain and every shade in between.
But talk a little bit about this because he definitely has shifted. He was very unlikeable for much of the time I covered him and difficult, but always interesting. Someone who was a problem to cover, I would say over the many years.
You have a whole chapter titled Why We Hate Billionaires, where you note America appears to be growing increasingly uneasy about them.