in Musings

Haves and haves-not

I learned two things this weekend:

  1. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison spent over $500 million buying himself a Hawaiian island, the island of Lanai.
  2. Only 0.58 percent of Liberians have electric service to their homes. The hydroelectric dam needed to increase supply needs $165 million in repairs.

I went to bed last night wondering how someone like Larry Ellison can purchase such a luxury when there are people in the world who consider electricity a luxury. Malcolm Gladwell said that 50 years from now no one will remember Steve Jobs but they will remember Bill Gates, because Gates’s wealth is being put to good use in charities working to improve health, among other things. Looks like people will be saying “Ellison who?” in the future as well.