Elon Musk is back in the limelight (does he ever really leave it?) after taking part in a Twitter battle with David Beasley, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
A debate between the two was sparked after suggestions that a small percentage of wealth could help address world hunger.
When speaking with CNN’s Connect the World, Beasley said a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals could help solve world hunger with just a fraction of their net worth.
“Step up now, on a one-time basis,” Beasley told Becky Anderson in the interview that aired on Tuesday before specifically referencing two of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
“$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated,” he added.
Musk immediately reacted online to CNN’s catchy but misleading headline
“If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.” Musk said.
.@elonmusk With your help we can bring hope, build stability and change the future.
Let’s talk: It isn’t as complicated as Falcon Heavy, but too much at stake to not at least have a conversation. I can be on the next flight to you. Throw me out if you don’t like what you hear!
— David Beasley (@WFPChief) October 31, 2021
Beasley graciously explained the article title was exaggerated and attempted to open the dialogue with Musk further, only to be shut down while Musk continued to challenge him and the WFP.
“Please publish your current & proposed spending in detail so people can see exactly where money goes.” Musk tweeted.
Musk may have been tweeting a little faster than he could google as the WFP publishes internal audit reports of its spending in each country every year.
The WFP is a branch of the United Nations used to fight against world hunger and while it has received praise alongside criticism previously, the agency was awarded The Nobel Peace Price in 2020 “for its efforts to combat hunger”.
It’s great to see that the multi-billionaire isn’t too phased by the controversy and was able to get back to his regularly scheduled tweets about every fleeting idea that comes into his head.
Tuition is in Dogecoin & u get a discount if u have a dog
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2021
Musk’s net worth reached an enormous $288.6 billion last week and it seems like that figure won’t be reduced any time soon, even by just 2%.
