THE work of Tim Schwab was mentioned here before [1, 2] and he's one of the reasons we started reading The Nation more closely, linking to it more routinely as well.
"Below we have Mr. Gates, in his very own words, which are somewhat revealing."A new article was mentioned to us by a Techrights supporter as soon as Schwab had published it (this supporter follows us as well as Schwab, partly because we cover overlapping issues). Without resorting to all sorts of nutty conspiracy theories Schwab investigates the underlying facts and outlines the article using the reductionist headline anyone can understand: "While the Poor Get Sick, Bill Gates Just Gets Richer" (a lot richer). Here he goes:
In the early days of the pandemic, President Trump made headlines when he reportedly tried to secure rights to a vaccine from German developer CureVac on behalf of the US government—a move that stirred questions about equity and justice. Should the United States get priority access to the Covid vaccine just because we are the world’s wealthiest nation? Shouldn’t the most vulnerable—no matter their nationality or salary—get vaccinated first?
“Capitalism has its limits,” one German lawmaker noted in a widely reported tweet.
Had Trump succeeded, the deal might also have sent another stark message about economic inequality—delivering a financial windfall to one of the most moneyed players in the pandemic response: the Gates Foundation.
[...]
The foundation recently reported a $40 million stake in CureVac—one of dozens of investments the foundation reports having in companies working on Covid vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics or manufacturing, according to The Nation’s analysis of the foundation’s most recent tax return, web site, and various SEC filings. The foundation has also announced that it will “leverage a portion of its $2.5 billion Strategic Investment Fund” to advance its work on Covid.
These investments, amounting to more than $250 million, show that the world’s most visible charity, and one of the world’s most influential voices in the pandemic response, is in a position to potentially reap considerable financial gains from the Covid-19 pandemic.