Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has gotten into a Twitter feud with the president of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) over suggestions that a small portion of his fortune may used to help alleviate world hunger. The Twitterstorm began when David Beasley, the World Food Programme’s head, remarked on CNN’s Connect the World that a tiny number of ultra-wealthy individuals could help end world hunger with just a fraction of their money, but that they must “step forward now, on a one-time basis.”
“$6 billion to assist 42 million people who are on the verge of starvation if we do not intervene. It is not difficult, “he stated “If WFP can articulate on this Twitter thread precisely how $6 billion would eliminate world hunger, I will sell Tesla shares right now and do it,” Musk stated in response to one of the article’s headlines.
Beasley said that the title was slightly misleading: the amount would not cure world hunger outright, but it would help to avert “geopolitical instability, mass migration, and save 42 million people on the verge of famine.” Climate change, conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Beasley, have exacerbated all of these issues.
“We can provide optimism, develop stability, and transform the future with your aid,” Beasly tweeted, naming Musk directly. “Let’s speak: It’s not quite as difficult as Falcon Heavy, but there’s far too much at stake not to at least talk about it. I will be able to get to you on the following flight. If you don’t like what you hear, throw me out!” Musk, on the other hand, was unconvinced and responded by tweeting, “Please reveal your current & projected expenditures in detail so people can understand exactly where money goes.”
Musk said, “Sunlight is a fantastic thing.” Despite Musk’s demands, the World Food Programme currently provides annual internal audit reports on its spending in each nation. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the UN agency in charge of fighting worldwide hunger. It accomplishes this through providing food assistance to needy populations, particularly during times of crisis, as well as seeking to strengthen food supply systems and infrastructure. Its ultimate goal is to eliminate hunger from the globe by 2030.
In recent years, the agency has attracted both acclaim and criticism. The WFP awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 “for its efforts to eliminate hunger” and provide food assistance to war-torn countries, the WFP, on the other hand, have several problems. An internal poll of WFP personnel in 2019 showed hundreds of claims of abuse, including rape and sexual assault, as Musk pointed out.
Musk may be kind when he wants to be, but this is not the first time he has indicated a strong desire to keep his many billions of dollars to himself. He recently stated that taxing the ultra-rich would hold down his eventual objective of populating Mars with people. Meanwhile, Musk’s net worth said to have risen to a dizzying $288.6 billion last week.
