Even as the U.S. works through political differences and gets used to the new Trump administration, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett expressed optimism that the country will move ahead and make progress as a nation.
While there have been concerns expressed by critics about what U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to unwind the work of his predecessor Barack Obama in a series of executive orders would mean for Americans and their place in the world, the world's two richest people made such [positive comments while they were speaking to students at Columbia University.
"I am confident that America will move ahead," Buffett said.
Despite differences on how to accomplish and fund innovation and support for research, Gates said the desire for innovation and support for research are "strong" and "largely bipartisan."
There is much intensity to ensure that the executive branch and Congress encourage "amazing things," even though "this administration is new enough; we don't know how its budget priorities are going to come out," Gates said.
While Buffett runs the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Gates co-founded and was the first chief executive of Microsoft Corp.
Buffett is worth $73.9 billion and Gates is worth $85.2 billion, Forbes magazine said on Friday.
To watch the close friends, who have known each other for a quarter century, an estimated 1,300 people attended the Columbia University event.
The close relations between the two is exhibited by the fact that while Buffett is donating much of his wealth to the charitable foundation set up by Gates and his wife, Melinda, Gates is also a Berkshire director.
Despite the impulse or perceived need for shorter-term thinking, it is important to invest and focus on doing good works over the long term, both told students.
While calling it just as important to make sure that people can get access to vaccines as it is important to get them developed, Gates said that looking at long term gains was particularly true and important in areas such as climate change and vaccinations.
Buffett said: "It's very hard to have politicians think of something that's wonderful for the country 20 years from now" if the short-term impact might cost them reelection, with their decisions often tainted by too much money, which he called "bad news."
While neither Buffett nor Gates discussed anything about the U.S. {President Donald Trump, they Buffett however also stressed on the importance of immigration which is a central issue for Trump.
The United States might have come out quite different had the physicists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard not in 1939 urged U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to develop a nuclear program to counter threats from Nazi Germany, Buffett said the country has been "blessed" by immigrants.
"If it weren't for those two immigrants, who knows if we would be sitting in this room," Buffett said.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
While there have been concerns expressed by critics about what U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to unwind the work of his predecessor Barack Obama in a series of executive orders would mean for Americans and their place in the world, the world's two richest people made such [positive comments while they were speaking to students at Columbia University.
"I am confident that America will move ahead," Buffett said.
Despite differences on how to accomplish and fund innovation and support for research, Gates said the desire for innovation and support for research are "strong" and "largely bipartisan."
There is much intensity to ensure that the executive branch and Congress encourage "amazing things," even though "this administration is new enough; we don't know how its budget priorities are going to come out," Gates said.
While Buffett runs the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Gates co-founded and was the first chief executive of Microsoft Corp.
Buffett is worth $73.9 billion and Gates is worth $85.2 billion, Forbes magazine said on Friday.
To watch the close friends, who have known each other for a quarter century, an estimated 1,300 people attended the Columbia University event.
The close relations between the two is exhibited by the fact that while Buffett is donating much of his wealth to the charitable foundation set up by Gates and his wife, Melinda, Gates is also a Berkshire director.
Despite the impulse or perceived need for shorter-term thinking, it is important to invest and focus on doing good works over the long term, both told students.
While calling it just as important to make sure that people can get access to vaccines as it is important to get them developed, Gates said that looking at long term gains was particularly true and important in areas such as climate change and vaccinations.
Buffett said: "It's very hard to have politicians think of something that's wonderful for the country 20 years from now" if the short-term impact might cost them reelection, with their decisions often tainted by too much money, which he called "bad news."
While neither Buffett nor Gates discussed anything about the U.S. {President Donald Trump, they Buffett however also stressed on the importance of immigration which is a central issue for Trump.
The United States might have come out quite different had the physicists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard not in 1939 urged U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to develop a nuclear program to counter threats from Nazi Germany, Buffett said the country has been "blessed" by immigrants.
"If it weren't for those two immigrants, who knows if we would be sitting in this room," Buffett said.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
