Today and probably for the rest of his life, I will envy Bill Gates. Do I envy his cunning? No - like all dilettantes with no real record of accomplishment, I'm certain my cleverness more than matches the best. Do I envy his wealth? Not exactly - beyond the ability to go anywhere and never have to work another day in one's life in order to live in luxury (somewhere around $5 million), money is just an abstraction. Do I envy his technical achievements? LOL! Let me know when he has any. What I envy is that he gets to give away fifty billion dollars, the largest philanthropic endeavor in the history of the word, and all I can do is fantasize about how I would give it away if it were mine. What would you do with a foundation that big? Hell, what would you do with a foundation twice or four times that size?
Not everything I would want to do could be afforded at the same time, but here are my fantasy projects:
- Make California* 100% energy renewable and self-sufficient.
- Make California* 100% water renewable and self-sufficient.
- Found a city dedicated to and embodying science, technology, sustainability, beauty, and social dynamism.
- Found a university (preferably in the aforementioned city) committed to being the best in everything, including responsibility and citizenship.
- Build the tallest, most beautiful skyscraper in the world (same city).
- Found the best and most advanced hospital on Earth (same city).
- Superconducting Super-collider (in California, of course).
- LA to SF bullet train.
- Vast array of space, aviation, and ground transportation technology prizes, grants, and specific projects.
- Start a news organization committed to objectivity, depth, breadth, relevance, and intelligence (headquartered in same city).
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, grants, and prizes.
- Universal gigabit ethernet infrastructure for California.
*Making the entire country self-sufficient and renewable would run into the trillions, so it would just have to be a state-level demonstration project.
Let's hear your fantasy projects. You have $50-$200 billion to give away (as a vague range - don't need to plot out the exact costs), now let your imagination run wild, and feel free to post as long a response as you please. Maybe someone will read it who will some day be in a position to make it a reality.