They own billions and put their money into private space travel instead of solving problems on earth: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson. Now Bezos is responding to the critics.
Frankfurt – You own billions and invest your money in private space travel and space tourism: Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk. While many people on earth do not have enough money to buy what they need, while others are starving and the earth is moaning from climate change, Bezos, Branson and Musk can think of nothing better than to put their money in an industry that does nothing contributes to improving people’s lives or protecting nature, so the criticism that the billionaires have to listen to regularly. Especially before Richard Branson’s flight into space and Jeff Bezos’ planned launch into space, the criticism was particularly loud. The billionaires should rather spend their money on earth and put their energy into solutions to the problems on earth, so the tenor.
The criticism is now so loud that Jeff Bezos has to react to it before his trip into space. On CNN, he was asked by a presenter what he had to say about the criticism – and gave an answer that should surprise many: “The critics are largely right,” said the billionaire, who, according to Forbes, has a fortune of 204 billion US dollars . Then he makes it clear: “We have to do both”, solve problems on earth and fly into space. There are many problems on earth that need to be worked on, but it is also important to look to the future. “We have always done that as a species, as a civilization,” said Bezos. “If we enable a way into space for the next generations to do incredible things there, these things will solve the problems on earth”.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson: Criticism of the billionaires’ space plans
The left US Senator Bernie Sanders (Democrats) sees it a little differently. He writes on Twitter:
Here on earth, in the richest country on the planet, half of our people live from paycheck to paycheck, people fight for their nourishment, fight to see a doctor – but hey, the richest guys in the world are in space! Yes. It’s time to tax the billionaires.
The founder of the private space company SpaceX, Elon Musk, goes directly to Sanders on Twitter: “Space is an exciting idea, but right now we need to focus on the earth and create a progressive tax system so that children do not go hungry, people do not become homeless and all Americans have health care “. The extent of inequality in America is obscene and a threat to democracy, Sanders said.
Private space travel under fire: petition against Jeff Bezos and his flight into space
Ric Geiger sees it similarly. The 31-year-old from Michigan has started a petition entitled “Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth” – that is: “Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth. Before the Bezos rocket launch, more than 160,000 people had already signed this petition. The 31-year-old told CNBC that he started the petition “as a joke” because “there is obviously no way to prevent Jeff Bezos from returning to earth.” Platform ”for the topic of“ unequal distribution of wealth ”.
Jeff Bezos puts money into private space travel and makes billions during Corona
Jeff Bezos gained $ 70 billion in wealth during the corona pandemic alone, while at the same time it is known that he pays little or no taxes. Sanders also points out on Twitter: The 28 million US dollars that an unknown person offered at an auction for a seat on board the first space flight with Jeff Bezos is 28 million more than “Jeff Bezos 2007 and 2011 in income tax “, explains Sanders on Twitter:” Yes, it is time for billionaires to pay a fair share of the taxes. “
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Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson: Criticism of Billionaires in the Aerospace Industry
“I get annoyed when I see that people spend their money frivolously, I’m talking about building spaceships and flying into space,” CNBC quoted from an email from petition starter Geiger. Bezos doesn’t see his space company Blue Origin as a fun project. In 2019 he told CBS that the development of space technologies was “important for this planet and for future generations”.
The Amazon founder sees people living in colonies in space in the future. “We are about to destroy this planet. And we’ve sent space probes to every planet in the solar system – this is the good planet. We have to preserve this planet, ”said Bezos in 2019. Elon Musk’s long-term goal, on the other hand, even provides for humanity to colonize other planets, above all Mars. A goal that will probably remain unattainable for people who already do not have enough to live on on earth. (Tanja Banner)
