Microsoft founder Bill Gates weighed in on his fellow billionaire Elon Musk’s international political ambitions—twice calling the Tesla and SpaceX owner’s support for far-right movements abroad “insane.”
The billionaire spent the weekend giving interviews for his upcoming memoir Source Code: My Beginnings, which hits bookstores in February. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Gates was uncharacteristically candid with his opinions on Musk’s recent efforts to influence politics in the UK and Europe.
“It’s really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries,” Gates said. “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.”
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The Microsoft founder said he was “not at all” concerned about influencing politics like Musk. However, Gates also told friends that he donated $50 million to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in October, The New York Times reported.
“You want to promote the right wing but say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough,” Gates told the British newspaper, referring to Musk’s beliefs. “I mean, this is insane s---. You are for the AfD [German far-right party Alternative for Germany].”
But he also offered muted praise for Musk, implying that the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and the social media site X might be taking on more than he can handle.
“We can all overreach,” Gates told The Sunday Times. “If someone is super-smart, and he is, they should think how they can help out. But this is populist stirring.”
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Gates seemed cautiously optimistic that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—the panel that Trump has tasked with slashing the federal budget—could reduce the national debt.
Gates said he expected Musk’s group to look at things like “pension, defense, and healthcare,” but hoped that he would spare programs that would deliver life-saving medication to HIV and AIDS patients in Africa.
After his electoral victory in November, Trump boasted that Gates was going to join other Silicon Valley titans for a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort before his inauguration. In the interview published Saturday, the Microsoft founder admitted to meeting with the president for a three-hour “engaging conversation” about some of the Gates Foundation’s interests, including breakthroughs in HIV treatment and polio eradication.
