Bill Gates Calls for 'Creative Capitalism'

The Washington Post covers Bill Gates’ vision for a new kind of capitalism that would benefit the poor as well as the rich. Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, one of the world's wealthiest people, said business must work with governments and nonprofit groups to stem poverty and spur more technological innovation.

"We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well," he told corporate leaders and politicians at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. "I like to call this idea 'creative capitalism.'"

Meanwhile, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made public its intent to donate $306 million to help the small farmers in Africa and other parts of the world. The foundation said that agriculture must be aided in the developing countries because there is where most of the world's poorest people live.

"If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers,” Bill Gates said.

Early on, Bill and Melinda Gates agreed to focus on a few areas of giving, choosing where to place their money by asking two questions: Which problems affect the most people? And which have been neglected in the past? So while they don't give to the American Cancer Society, they have pumped billions into the world's deadliest diseases - most importantly AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis - and failing public high schools in the U.S.