Photo: Getty Images
Yesterday, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates announced a $500 million joint effort to fight cigarette use across the globe. Bloomberg’s foundation is adding a cool $250 million to his already pledged $125 million, and Gates is throwing in $150 million, which he found in the pocket of an old suit jacket that had been hanging up in the back of his closet. An Oxford smoking expert quoted by the Times “reckons” the initiative could end up saving “hundreds of millions” of lives, which, to be cynical about it, will also free up hundreds of millions more people to use Microsoft and get their financial information from Bloomberg News. Not that we think these guys have anything but altruistic intentions. In fact, we’re just glad these two unfathomably wealthy, ridiculously powerful men are using their powers for good. Can you imagine if, instead of teaming up to fight smoking, they decided to block out the sun or start their own robot army? The above photo would be absolutely terrifying, instead of oddly heartwarming. —Dan Amira
