Elon Musk has caught the ire of fellow billionaire and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. The multi-hyphenate philanthropist and computer programmer lambasted Musk in a new interview with the United Kingdom’s The Times over the Tesla CEO’s increasing involvement in not only America’s elections, but those ongoing in foreign countries like the U.K. and Germany.
“It’s really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries,” Gates remarked. “I think in the U.S., foreigners aren’t allowed to give money; other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners aren’t distorting their elections.”
Gates’ comments came in the wake of multiple recent moves on Musk’s part — including his intentional enmeshment within the Trump Administration; his calls for Nigel Farage, the current leader of the far-right British political party Reform U.K., to be replaced with someone else; and an appearance at an event for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In the first week of Trump’s second presidential term, Musk also made headlines for making a gesture at a rally that many considered a Nazi salute. In response to that controversy, Musk subsequently made a Holocaust joke that was swiftly condemned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and commented during his AfD appearance that Germans need to “move beyond” whatever “past guilt” they feel over their country’s history.
Altogether, these actions have frustrated and befuddled Gates. “You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough… I mean, this is insane s–t. You are for the AfD [in Germany],” Gates remarked. “We can all overreach… If someone is super-smart, and he is, they should think how they can help out. But this is populist stirring.”
Gates may have participated in a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago just a few weeks ago that he says was “pretty constructive,” but he still doesn’t seem interested in taking nearly as hands-on of an approach to American and global politics as Musk. “The whole political situation with polarization is very dangerous,” Gates argued. “Our problem is an aging society, tight budgets and a right-wing inward turning, with hatred of all foreigners, and hence refusing aid to them even if they’re not in your own country. We’re in a challenging situation.”
The right-wing shift Gates mentioned is certainly evident in Musk’s recent uber-political swing. Given how many other tech CEOs were present at Trump’s inauguration, though, it seems like Gates is in the minority right now about Musk — at least within his wealthy, immensely insular crowd.
