They came up with plans to prevent suicide and tackle climate change. Then on Day 4 of the reality TV challenge came a final twist.
When the world’s wealthiest people lined up to pledge to pay at least $26.8 million to help combat climate change, their ranks included the world’s richest man, Bill Gates. So too, among other billionaires, was the late Warren Buffet. The next richest man, Carlos Slim, gave $5 million, and the richest woman, Melinda Gates, gave $2 million.
“Of course, I never dreamed that I would be doing this,” Gates told the assembled, according to a report from the International Business Times.
Gates’ goal was to make the largest donation in history. To reach it, he would raise $26.8 million for the New Climate Economy initiative, a $2-billion, 5,000-person challenge to help create 10 million jobs in clean technologies by 2020.
His goal was to reach the $26.8 million mark by the end of the challenge’s fourth day, on Saturday, May 22. The latest count was at $6.3 million in cash and $5 million in services, according to the report in the IBTimes.com.
“It’s a big deal,” Gates told IBTimes.com of the $26.8 million pledge. “All you can do is look at everything, and if you think something that looks a little bit out of whack, try to correct it.”
He said his goal is to make the largest donation to any social or philanthropic cause in history.
The goal is to make a difference in the global fight against climate change and poverty in half a century. This challenge includes helping governments achieve 100 percent renewable power and a low carbon economy, creating millions of jobs, and fighting climate-related diseases and malnutrition.
There are also plans to protect a “vast amount of water that’s not going to be spoiled by industry