After taking over Twitter last year, Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk on Sunday expressed his willingness to “buy” the World Health Organization (WHO).
Musk, over the weekend, responded to an unusual request from an entrepreneur named Dr. Eli David on Twitter, asking if the billionaire could “buy WHO from Bill Gates and make it about health?”
“How much does it cost?,” asked Musk on Twitter.
The WHO is a United Nations agency entrusted with overseeing global public health matters and is not owned by Bill Gates.
“I think Elon getting named richest person on the planet is like the rest of us on payday and thinking we should treat ourselves,” wrote one user.
Although the WHO is run by member states which donate public funds, it relies heavily on private donors. Over the years, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – established by Gates and his former wife, Melinda Gates – has become the second-biggest donor to the WHO. The foundation has played a crucial role in supporting the agency’s various initiatives and programs to improve global health outcomes.
“Let’s all chip in, so we can make this happen! … puts car and bike on Craigslist,” the third user commented.
“I’m sure the price went up big time after Elons response,” the fourth user wrote.
“Real value now is at 1$. But you can buy it at a 50% discount,” the fifth wrote in the tweet.
The donation from the Gates Foundation to the WHO has been met with mixed reactions. Many critics have argued that such large funding from billionaires gives the Gates an outsized influence and underscores the chronic funding problem WHO faces even as it contends with more and more health crises.
Musk’s recent tweet has caused a stir on Twitter, triggering memories of his 2017 discussion about potentially acquiring the microblogging platform.
Back then, Musk openly expressed his fondness for Twitter in a tweet stating, “I love Twitter.”
In response, a user suggested that he should consider buying it. In his typical fashion, Musk playfully responded with a question: “How much is it?” And from that point on, the billionaire today owns the platform.
Produced in association with Benzinga
