lifestyle leader

Bill Gates announced today that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $10bn over 10 years on developing vaccines for the world's poorest countries. They aim to vaccinate over 90% of children in these countries, and could save over 8.7 million young lives as a result. Gates and his wife are arguably the greatest philanthropists of modern times, using their wealth and influence to address some of the world most under-resourced problems.

Gates also has a sharp sense of humor, as evidenced by the following shot he took at epic blowhard, sometimes assault victim and eternal IPE Journal whipping-boy Silvio Berlusconi:

'Rich people spend a lot more money on their own problems, like baldness, than they do to fight malaria...Dear Silvio, I am sorry to make things difficult for you, but you are ignoring the world's poor.'

In other words, 'I drink your milkshake.'

According to FP Passport, Italy's foreign aid budget was approximately 0.11% of GDP in 2009, one of the lowest in the developed world and half its 2008 amount. This contrasts starkly with the amount of money Berlusconi spends on his own image, which my conservative estimates put at 4,000% of his GBI (gross Berlusconi income).

The Italian premier has grabbed headlines in Italy this week for a disappearing, then reappearing, then disappearing head of hair. The bald Berlusconi is a known purveyor of the art of hair restoration, but the country is gripped by his latest, some might say insufficient, attempts at scalp renewal (I might exaggerate a tad, but it's my blog, so it must be true).

In contrast, Bill Gates spent a great deal of his time and money this week helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable.