Is Bill Gates getting a fair shake?

Gates has been the beneficiary of both a well-funded public relations apparatus for decades and the good will engendered by his wife Melinda. He was painted as a rarity-- one of the richest men in the world who was a decent guy, family man, and potential savior of the planet. Philandering, hitting on employees, hanging with Epstein will no doubt tarnish his reputation but it will pass. As far as his philanthropy goes, there is criticism across the political spectrum, not simply the right. I think questioning the advisability of a handful of the wealthiest people in the world determining public policy is overdue.

I see your point R1. Frankly I'm more worried about Zuckerberg and his ilk though.

he hung out with epstein coz the thought he was increasing his chances of getting the nobel peace prize lol

I’m absolutely disinterested in Bill’s “womanizing” stories, and feel that there is a lot of desperation to make him look like the worst person on earth now, because he’s finally vulnerable to criticism after being a model citizen for all these years.

I don’t care about his cheating. He’s doing good things with his money unlike most other billionaires, and that’s all that counts.

Gates has the most inept PR hired as cleaners.

His divorce as part of a high profile couple is gossip worthy. If his crafted PR gets a bit muddy when checked against reality, that is on him and his decisions.

Bill Gates is a eugenicist.

Him as an individual buying up a tremendous percentage of US ag land warrants scrutiny too, R1. Chillingly he declared that his frankenfood meat WOULD be profitable despite consumers not taking to it. What ARE his plans to make that happen and how does all the land he now owns play into that?

I still say they bulldozed Epstein’s whorehouse to erase any evidence -including residual DNA- of all these “self-made” men who used underaged sex workers.

NDAs aside, I really wish we get a wikileaks-style dump of Epstein photos. It would shed light on a slew of otherwise conservative men turning into ass kissers.

Who would have that this nerdy guy would be getting all the pussy he wants.

Money really does talk.

His buy-up of agricultural land is like the plot to the dullest James Bond movie ever, but it really should worry everyone.

Latest story is that he was cosying up to Epstein to get an introduction to the Norwegian guy in charge of handing out the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Gates Foundation has issued a statement denying Bill was scheming for the Peace Prize: "While a Nobel Prize would certainly be a great honor, it is false to state that Bill Gates was ‘obsessed’ with the honor, set it as a goal, or campaigned for it in any way."

Question is, why is a tax-free foundation working PR for Bill Gates?

Who cares about his reputation? I'm sure he'll live, with his ongoing agenda to sway political matters (he's cost us a lot of money with that school bs), and wealth accumulation on the back of our resources.

Save the tears for people that deserve them. He's in the same league as all the other wealthy tevhie androids (Zuck, Bezos) -- a parasite of the system. His wife was the only reason he procured that good guy image in the first place, therefore so be it if his image suffers as the ship sinks. Don't go blaming her as if he was that ignorant about the company he kept.

Gates, Zuckerburg, Bezos and their ilk should be taxed until they are merely wealthy. Obscene wealth like theirs amidst great poverty like Youngstown, W. Va and Detroit is immoral and should be illegal.

Yea his personal life is off limits unless it is relevant to the public. I'm not seeing that so far.

People stray for all kinds of reasons - some understandable some not. But in any event we don't know their marriage and it's none of our business. Anyway you think she married him for love? Puleeze.

Ah so now the fact that he had many Lolita Express air miles is out the media are going to help him shift the focus to questionable relationships with adults. Those millions he throws at the media obviously pay off.

And we're supposed to take medical advice from a guy who sought marriage advice from Jefrey Epstein?

No he is not being given a fair shake. Gates is a human being like all of us and fallible. But the right wingers have had it out for him for years. And of course the creepy U.S. mainstream media is going nuts because they always attack people who lean dem with the most intense venom and glee. Note how the jackals in the press never go this nuts for some greedy oil barrons fifth divorce in a decade. It's kinda like how the press didn't give a shit when rich republican politicians were fucking around for decades in DC but the Clinton affair was treated as a national crisis.

Gates has a nonprofit foundation doing PR in hopes he will get a Nobel. If he was so concerned about his rep he could have made different choices. The IRS should look into how his foundation is being used as personal PR>

Fuck Bill Gates.

He wants to help people? Use that money to buy back our government from the other billionaires like Mercer, Koch and dark money from other countries and give it back to the people. Use that money to promote politicians that want to protect the right to vote instead of destroy it. Use that money to promote politicians who believe in democracy and the preservation of it.

If he put his charity money to better use he might not need to give so much TO charity.

R17, the IRS doesn’t audit rich individuals or nonprofits unless told to do so.

Gates is worth about $128 billion dollars, that provides so much privilege, if he gets a raw deal a couple of times in his life, I honestly don't give a damn.

R20, You just wait until you're super rich and then you're leaving your wife and getting a raw deal.

Oh wait- NO NO and therefore NO.

He's responsible for his actions and his inactions and any consequences. He is not entitled to a blanket pass and everything being swept under the rug.

Unless Gates fucked a crippled Down syndrome tyke, who the fuck cares about this? The wife obviously is going gangbusters with her legal, marketing and political teams.

Anytime a celebrity turns out to be the complete opposite from what his PR image is, it's big trouble. Gates deserves everything he gets now, and people will get over it eventually. Big deal, I'm not crying for him. Tiger Woods lost his good guy image (though was not associated with something as nefarious as Epstein) when it was revealed that he was a sleazy serial cheater. I could care less, and men cheat, okay. But Tiger had an image to uphold, an image that sold commercial products. Once the image was tarnished, those endorsement companies went running. It's all in the game, and Bill Gates SHOULD HAVE KNOWN his behavior would become public knowledge, and his image and marriage would be ruined.

“he hung out with epstein coz the thought he was increasing his chances of getting the nobel peace prize”

You meant to say ‘a novel piece prize’.

I don't care about his affairs & I'm not surprised he's an asshole - Steve Jobs was a terrible person - but I guess I'm surprised he was so skeevy & sleazy. Hitting on employees? Dude, you could have anyone you want & you're fishing off the company pier? I thought his judgement was better.

Build them up. Tear them down.

It’s why we built pyramids - turn them into gods and then kill them, seal them up next to their internal organs and toys, and move on to the next victim.

R26 Bill liked to play power games- he was the boss and in control. That is why he went after his underlings.

OP, he's a fucking billionaire. He's not the one not "getting a fair shake."

Why on earth would Bill Gates of all people need Jeffrey Epstein of all people for an introduction to the Norwegian Nobel guy?

Epstein remains the really intriguing character. If nothing else, maybe Bill's relationship can help tell us how Epstein was able to move in such circles, even after his conviction.

Yes, R31. The Jeffrey Epstein connection, and the millions of unresolved questions about Epstein, is key here. Gates took up with Epstein after Epstein's criminal conviction, and made misleading statements about how well he knew Epstein. Gates seemed to have been added to the set of powerful old creeps (Trump, Clinton, Dershowitz, etc.) Epstein collected for reasons not fully understood. There is evidence, though, with a number of them that he involved them in his partying/sex trafficking/raping/"Lolita Express" ways. (Gates referred to this as Epstein's "lifestyle.")

It's more than fair to ask what the hell Gates was doing with this guy.

Exactly. And how Bill Gates was drawn to Epstein might start to tell us the source of Epstein's magnetism.

He was a sex pest at work.

OP is concerned for all the poor, tragic billionaires

Men's Rights Activists are such kooks. They think rich straight white men are the biggest victims!

[quote]Hitting on employees? Dude, you could have anyone you want & you're fishing off the company pier?

Gates is a NERD with a capital N. Nerds do not know how to converse with normal people at a bar or a party. They only know how to go after the closest ones, the ones at work. Otherwise they'd have no friends or intimate partners.

Doesn’t seem he did anything worse than cheat on his wife. I like the wife. Seems like she’s got some class. Glad she’s getting out.

But kind of feel sorry for Gates. He slept around. A surprise, but so what?

Bill Gates goes around telling us plebs how to live and evaluating risks like vaccines for us.

That means Bill Gates's judgement counts.

And for someone with his money and his power to come on to women colleagues at work shows damnable judgement, especially after Clinton-Lewinsky. The imbalance in the relationship is just too vast.

They never mention anything about his son, only the daughter in medical school. He's already 21, is he even in college?

OK..Have you ever Seriously checked Bill out.. From a 'Play for Pay'(as in Ho).. Melinda should have gotten a cool mill. on her pillow every time that MF got up off the bed. She's no beauty..But Lord he is Gross.. I'm sure the girls at the strip joints made MAJOR bank off him With all the dough he has he can't hide his skank...Grossss Git that major money Melind..Girl you earned it!!

Melinda should take action against him using the foundation for his PR.

[quote] if he gets a raw deal a couple of times in his life, I honestly don't give a damn.

R20, it's not that he is privileged. That's irrelevant to the principle involved. When you make exceptions for some then the rule usually falls for all.

First principles are important.

Melinda’s thoughts:

“However, she has always known that he is not strong and mature. He is weak and immature and stupid and impulsive.

She believes that he is fundamentally a bad person with the judgement of an adolescent.”

“The Crown Jewels” - BG