'Their true personalities are coming out': Rise of the super rich in US politics worries Melinda French Gates
It's no secret that since the US Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United versus FEC in 2010, deep-pocketed donors and super political action committees (PACS) have poured money, and influence, into the nation's political arena.
Regarding the uber-wealthy people who have entered positions of power in the country in an interview with CNN's Abby Phillip to be aired on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) Melinda French Gates said, "I think we are seeing some of their true personalities come out in the last few years. I think this has always been in the undertone of lots of people."
Among billionaires gaining prominence in politics, tech billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have been especially notable, including at Donald Trump's inauguration.
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Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates. CNN
That, and moves by others of the ultra-wealthy such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, has prompted criticism that the country has become an oligarchy.
French Gates is one of the world's wealthiest and most prominent philanthropists. She resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year following her divorce from Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
As part of her divorce agreement, she received $US12.5 billion ($19 billion) from the Gates Foundation for her charitable work upon her resignation. Her net worth is now $US14.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The current slate of prominent billionaires, she said without naming them, "have values that they espouse (that) are just different than mine."
"I know a lot of these folks. I've met a lot of them."
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Billionaires including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, at the inauguration of President Donald Trump in US Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) AP
French Gates started The Giving Pledge in 2010 with her then-husband, Bill Gates, and billionaire Warren Buffett. The initiative aims to get the world's wealthiest to donate at least half of their fortunes to charities and philanthropic causes, either during their lifetimes or in their wills.
Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, and his husband recently signed the pledge, but notably Bezos — who's the second richest person in the world — has not.
"If you have a billion dollars, that's an absurd amount of wealth. You have a moral responsibility to give away at least half of it," French Gates said.
Last year, the philanthropist committed to donating $1 billion through 2026 to advance women's rights through her organisation, Pivotal Ventures.
She said she wanted to support reproductive freedom in the US after the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, which found that abortion is not a constitutional right.
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People protest following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Washington, June 24, 2022.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) AP
Critics have said the ultra-wealthy have an outsized role in the Trump administration.
French Gates said she has voted Republican and Democratic in different elections. However, she said that the effects of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC haven't been decisive in elections.
"I see a lot of giving on both sides of the aisle, and I wouldn't say one or the other swayed the election," French Gates said.
When asked if America is becoming an oligarchy, she said: "I sure hope not."
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