Steemit is a great platform to highlight and support the future hero’s of our generation. In the future, I hope to see Manoj Bhargava’s name next to the likes of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela as a man who changed the world. If we see that, he would have been successful in eradicating poverty worldwide.
Quote: ’If your given more, more should be expected of you’
More Billionaires, More inequality?! How can that be a good thing?
Billionaires can (and are) doing things that transcend inequality, they can push the human race forwards by investing there vast wealth in a way that any government would be envious. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are aiming to do just that by supporting ‘partners to deliver proven tools—including vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics—as well as discover pathbreaking new solutions that are affordable and reliable.”
Poverty is a problem which isn’t going away anytime soon. Almost everyone would agree that poverty (in it’s simplest form) is based around 2 key factors;
- Access to Clean Drinking (and Agricultural) Water: Well over 90% of illness worldwide is caused by drinking un-sanitary water. Along with that, Agricultural Water needs to be very low in Salt, much lower than drinking water. Water is the solution to illness and food depravity worldwide.
- Access to (Energy) Electricity. It has been estimated that around 1bn people don’t have access to Electricity. Imagine if these people had the means to access the internet,.. This would allow people to educate themselves out of poverty in many ways…
Manoj Bhargava is the Billionaire inventor behind ‘5 Hour Energy Shot’. With a net worth around $4.5bn, he literally has ‘Billions in Change’. But ‘Change’ is the significant word here. Manoj Bhargava has decided to try and ‘Change’ the world for the better by giving away 99% of his fortune.
Now, you might be thinking, ‘So what, just another Billionaire giving away all his money’, well not quiet…
Rather than give his money away passively to multiple philanthropic projects, he thinks he can do a better job himself. He quiet astutely put it, backing multiple small projects trying to change the world is like ‘throwing sand in the ocean’. He has a lot of sand, so has decided to invest his money, and manage his own project to (amongst other things) give the world clean drinking water, and limitless energy by invention..
The Inventions
Free Cycle:
Simply put, this is a static hybrid bicycle which, if cycled for 1hr, produces enough energy for a third world household for 24hrs. Completely clean off grid energy.
The Rainmaker:
‘There is water everywhere, but not a drop to drink’. The ‘Rain Project’ an invention which turns sea water into drinking water (well in fact any type of water, up to and including medical grade), by an industrial process that mimic the creation of Rain. This video can show you more than I can say...
Many of us imagine (strive for) a utopian world free of human suffering and with equality at it’s core. Well, first of all, that can’t happen until problems based around clean drinking water and cheap energy are solved. I would further put it to you, that the world being equal would halt human progress. Having capital in the hands of societies innovators is something which is essential for civilsations to move forward.
So if you want to change the world, maybe aspire to be a Billionaire…
A few supplementary bits...
Background:
Manoj was born in India before moving to the US at an early age. After attending Princeton university, he left after one year before returning to india and living the life of a buddhist monk for 12 years. On his return, some years passed before 5hr Energy Shot came along. His formative years certainly had an impact on him, I would highly recommend watching the following youtube video's if you want to know more...
