Free Republic

<p>Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, says he will sell $6 billion worth of Tesla stock and donate the proceeds to the United Nations’ food agency if it could show how the money would solve world hunger.</p><p>His statement came after U.N. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley challenged Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other billionaires in a CNN interview last week, calling on them to step up on “a one-time basis” to help end starvation.</p>

CNN tried to sell a false headline alleging that a fraction of the world’s richest man’s wealth could solve world hunger. CNN’s story was headlined, “2% of [Tesla co-founder and CEO] Elon Musk's wealth could solve world hunger, says director of UN food scarcity organization.” The lede paragraph asserted that “A small group of ultra-wealthy individuals could help solve world hunger with just a fraction of their net worth, says the director of the United Nations' World Food Programme [David Beasley.]” But the story’s lede offers a completely different context than what the headline suggested. Saying the rich could “help”...

Last week, the director of the United Nation's World Food Programme said if the world's top billionaires just donated a fraction of their worth, millions of people who are at risk of starving to death can be saved. Elon Musk, the second wealthiest person in the world, said he'd give up some of his wealth – only if he knows exactly where the money is going. Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX who has an estimated net worth of $151 billion, according to Forbes, replied to a tweet questioning the group's figures. "If WFP can describe on this Twitter...