How Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jack Ma and other billionaires are fighting COVID-19

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How Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jack Ma and other billionaires are fighting COVID-19

With the world deep in battle with the coronavirus outbreak, the planet's wealthiest individuals and families are lending a mitt to the global fight.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, some of the earth'south wealthiest are putting their vast fortunes to good use. This is despite the touch of the pandemic on their net worth – every bit global markets plunge, fortunes have tanked.

Nonetheless, several tycoons have deployed their dollars to coronavirus funds, and others have donated medical supplies to countries facing a shortage. Then there are those who are redirecting company resources towards producing supplies needed to fight the outbreak.

Hither's what the world's billionaires are doing to fight the spread of COVID-19.

BERNARD ARNAULT

LVMH tycoon Bernard Arnault has converted three of the group's perfume factories to manufacture hand sanitisers, which will exist distributed to French hospitals for costless. In improver, LVMH ordered 40 million masks from China to assistance France cope with the coronavirus outbreak.

READ> How LVMH went from making luxury perfumes to hand sanitisers in 72 hours

BILL GATES

On Feb 5, the Microsoft co-founder announced that the Neb and Melinda Gates Foundation would commit US$100 one thousand thousand (S$142.vii million) to help global detection, isolation and treatment of the coronavirus. More than half of the amount would go towards developing vaccines, treatment and diagnostics.

On April 5, Gates also said that his foundation will spend billions of dollars to fund the construction of factories for the almost promising efforts to develop a vaccine to combat the virus.

ELON MUSK

In March, Elon Musk was criticised for underplaying the severity of the pandemic, tweeting that panic over the virus was "dumb". Musk has since bought and donated 1,000 ventilators for Los Angeles hospitals and supplied N95 masks to the Academy of Washington Medical Centre and Columbia University Irving Medical Centre.

Tesla engineers are now building ventilators from car parts, hoping to heave the supply of the life-saving breathing auto.

ERIC YUAN

Eric Yuan, the founder of video conferencing startup Zoom Technologies, has debuted on Forbes' annual listing of billionaires for the first time. Utilize of the company'due south video chat service has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 outbreak.

To help mitigate the impact of the outbreak, Yuan has made his video conferencing software free for unlimited use for all affected 1000-12 (kindergarten to twelfth grade) schools in China, Japan, Italia and the U.s.a..

JACK DORSEY

Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey said on April seven that he was committing The states$1 billion of his personal fortune to coronavirus relief through his philanthropic fund. Dorsey said on Twitter that the amount is equivalent to 28 per cent of his wealth.

As of April 8, Dorsey's contribution is by far the biggest single donation to the global coronavirus fight.

JACK MA

Back in Jan, Alibaba's Jack Ma donated US$14 1000000 to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. In March, Ma also donated 500,000 test kits and one million masks to the US, which was facing a national shortage.

The billionaire, who is Asia's wealthiest man, has likewise sent test kits and medical supplies to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

READ> Commentary: Mainland china billionaires a strength to exist reckoned with in global COVID-nineteen fight – and more

JEFF BEZOS

On March xx, Amazon'south cloud unit Amazon Web Services committed Usa$xx million to the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative, a plan that seeks to speed upwards the development of faster COVID-19 exam kits.

On April ii, Jeff Bezos, who maintains his position this year as the earth'due south wealthiest individual (cyberspace worth: The states$113 billion), announced that he is altruistic U.s.a.$100 million to Feeding America, a U.s. non-profit organisation with a network of food banks and food pantries.

Withal, Bezos has come nether fire for Amazon's treatment of its warehouse workers during the crisis, with reports claiming that several accept tested positive for the virus.

LI KA-SHING

In February, the charity of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing donated HK$100 million (S$18.four million) to help Wuhan, the urban center where the coronavirus outbreak commencement occurred. Dorsum in his home land, Li'south foundation has as well distributed 250,000 face masks to social welfare organisations and homes for the elderly.

READ> Li Ka-shing is no longer Hong Kong's wealthiest homo. Who is the new No 1?

MARK ZUCKERBERG

FILE Photo: Facebook's founder and CEO Marking Zuckerberg. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Marking Zuckerberg's Facebook donated its emergency reserve of 720,000 masks in March to provide health workers in the US with more protective gear. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have too put US$25 million of their money behind an effort past Nib Gates to develop therapeutic treatments for COVID-xix.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is also working with the UC San Francisco and Stanford University to quadruple the Bay Area's testing and diagnostics chapters. The squad is also funding the conquering of two country-of-the-art FDA canonical COVID-19 diagnostic machines.

MUKESH AMBANI

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries ready up India's first dedicated COVID-nineteen hospital in Bombay. The center in Seven Hills Hospital has a total of 100 beds. Additionally, Ambani has contributed US$67 meg to Prime number Minister Narendra Modi'southward emergency fund.

RICHARD BRANSON

The Virgin Atlantic billionaire was vilified in March for asking staff to take eight weeks of unpaid leave amid the coronavirus crisis. Since then, Branson appear that Virgin Atlantic has pledged United states$250 one thousand thousand to supporting its employees.

SHELDON ADELSON

Business magnate and casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson donated 2 million masks and 20,000 protective suits to showtime responders and medical workers to help start a national shortage, according to Las Vegas Sands casino company. The visitor also pledged Usa$250,000 to hunger-relief programmes in Nevada.

How Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jack Ma and other billionaires are fighting COVID-19

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