Why Billionaires Won't Save Us

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why billionaires won't save us from climate change. Specifically, I look at how the elite philanthropy of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk function as more of a billionaire preservation of wealth and self than as an act of altruism. Elite philanthropy from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos in particular seem to solidify their political and social power even more. Bill Gates and his foundation have steered the realm of global health for quite some time (especially during the pandemic) and it seems as if he is using his billionaire wealth to do the same for climate action. Jeff Bezos' $10 billion Earth Fund seems to be functioning in a similar way while also whitewashing the destructive nature of Amazon, aka how Jeff Bezos made his money. Elon Musk is also jumping on the billionaire philanthropy train with a carbon capture prize that is measly compared to his massive wealth. At the end of the day billionaires and billionaire money are not solutions to climate change and the climate crisis, we are.

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:07 - The State of Climate Philanthropy
3:11 - How Philanthropists Changed Change
3:51 - Image Whitewashing
5:27 - Financial Consolidation
6:18 - Building Influence
9:07 - Techno-Optimism
10:07 - Philanthropy Doesn't Create Change. We Do.
12:26 - Sponsored Message
14:27 - Outro

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#Billionaires #Capitalism #ClimateChange

[OurChangingClimate]

💡 Which billionaire do you dislike the most?
👍 Consider commenting and liking the video!!! It really helps this video beat the pesky algorithm!
😟 Correction: at 1:39 I meant to say "million" instead of "billion"

[madmouse]

Q: Why billionaires won't save us
A: there's no profit

[andredejarjayes]

"Bill Gates, will you run for President?"
Bill Gates: "Why would I want to decrease my political power?"

[tankfire]

Richard wolff said something like we could take half from the wealth of the top richest people and they would still be the richest people.

[stenyethanmathews]

Make all philanthropic donations anonymous and see how fast rich people stop donating $$.

[userk]

"Real change means the loss of power by billionaires and transferring that power to billions". This‼️

[benjaminzerr]

Am I the only one who thinks that 'Bill Gates's' book is ghostwritten? I mean sure, he's smart and all, but that is the exact case scenario that ghostwriting is made for- he would pay a team of experts to brainstorm ideas then pay a professional to compile them all into a compelling book, maybe reading through it a couple times to make sure it fits his image. Like- do people think he actually sat down and spent hundreds of hours writing the thing?

[Luis-vxtx]

With all those funds and prizes, it's never occurred to them that buying solar panels for the poors would do more for the planet than their vanity projects.

[brendanforde]

im almost scared to continue watching cause I don't want to feel more hopeless than I already do

[felixkjornsberg]

Yeah i love growing up in this world, yeah my future is dependent on like 100-200 people and their "generosity"

[IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

The problem with extreme wealth and power is that anyone capable of gaining it is almost always going to be among the least suited to having it. The path necessary has a tendency to weight too heavily on the conscience of anyone who would be well-suited to possessing it.

[LeahandLevi]

Yeah man it's sad that those in search of extreme power and wealth don't grasp the concept of climate change (or see themselves as a part of the solution). Another great video man!

[iamzeeshan]

Hey Charlie, I really appreciate your courage to speak on this topic. I also love the fact that you changed your perception about Gates.

[mushroom]

Billionaires: sowwy guys I can't liquidate all my stocks because they'll become worthless :(

Also billionaires: *taking 100+ million dollar loans for yachts and enabling a system that allows their companies to make those billions via exploitation*

[planetdesign]

“Billionaires won’t give up their power”
so we’ll take it ourselves :sunglasses:

[EBProductions]

Complaining that 1 billion isnt enough billion doesnt make for a good argument

[jmmip]

"Wealth supports institutions that in turn legitimize that wealth" is something I remember hearing John Green say in one of his crash course series. Considering the fact that he himself is quite rich, I'm not sure how to feel about it.

[FalsAgent]

hey man, big respect to you for admitting that you regret the sponsorship.

[jaygordon]

Does he really think that the billionaires will accept being taxed heavily?

[broodypie]

there's less than 3000 of them and they're lazier and dumber than they'd have you believe, so not exactly hero material.