Elon Musk Pledges $6 Billion to End World Hunger, With One Catch

Ah, Elon Musk. A symbol of everything the left hates, despite being African American: He’s white. He’s an inspirational symbol of what hard work can achieve. And, worst of all, he’s rich.
He’s so rich, in fact, that a measly 2% of his wealth could just about solve world hunger, at least according to David Beasley, the director of the World Food Program.

Billionaires need to “step up now, on a one-time basis”, said David Beasley in an interview on CNN’s Connect the World with Becky Anderson that aired Tuesday — citing specifically the world’s two richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

“$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated,” he added.

Except it is excruciatingly complicated. There is currently enough food in the world for everyone to have enough; the issue is effective distribution. That means that the solution isn’t just a one-time cash drop a la the Berlin Airlift, it requires a comprehensive system to be built, maintained, and specialized to distinct regions and needs.
And I literally got all of that from a random Reddit comment earlier this morning, so I know this is hardly specialized knowledge.
However, as clearly as Beasley doesn’t understand this (or, more likely, is being dishonest about it), Musk is no stranger to the reality of the situation. He responded to a tweet about Beasley’s double dare with a double dog dare:

But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2021

(Side note: I really appreciate that he specified selling Tesla stock in order to access $6 billion in liquid funds, since the anti-billionaire left seems to think that they just hang out on top of literal piles of cash like some sort of entrepreneurial dragon.)
In response, Beasley clarified that the original notion– that $6 billion would fully end world hunger– was misrepresented.

.@elonmusk With your help we can bring hope, build stability and change the future.

Let’s talk: It isn’t as complicated as Falcon Heavy, but too much at stake to not at least have a conversation. I can be on the next flight to you. Throw me out if you don’t like what you hear!

— David Beasley (@WFPChief) October 31, 2021

A fair enough point, sure, but one that fails to address Musk’s challenge. So he reiterated.

Please publish your current & proposed spending in detail so people can see exactly where money goes.

Sunlight is a wonderful thing.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2021

He is truly the master of subtly roasting people on Twitter. All hail the Musk, Sultan of Shade.
Beasley responded with an invitation to meet in-person to discuss possibilities.

.@elonmusk Instead of tweets, allow me to show you. We can meet anywhere—Earth or space—but I suggest in the field where you can see @WFP’s people, processes and yes, technology, at work. I will bring the plan, and open books.

— David Beasley (@WFPChief) November 1, 2021

A promising offer, and one that I do hope Musk takes him up on, but one that, again, misses the primary point: Musk is not the only one with questions. And, as a spokesman for the people, he specified not once, but twice that he was asking for the PUBLIC’s sake, not just his own.
If these two men can work together, a lot of good could come from it. I hope they are able to engineer a solution to hunger that builds up communities around the world to be self-sufficient and innovative. But it needs to be on Musk’s terms, with transparency from start to finish.
Sunlight is a wonderful thing.