Gus Ruelas/Reuters
Bill Gates, takes part in a panel discussion titled "Investing in African Prosperity" at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California May 1, 2013.
For those unfamiliar, an AMA is where someone goes on Reddit and allows the greater internet community to ask them anything.
Someone asked what Gates thinks about immortality research, like what's being done at Calico, Google's new company that's trying to extend life and cure death. Here's Gates' response:
It seems pretty egocentric while we still have malaria and TB for rich people to fund things so they can live longer. It would be nice to live longer though I admit.
Gates' response is certainly pointed, but it's not too surprising. The Microsoft founder has spent years and millions of dollars to help cure diseases, through various charity organizations and scientific research, as well as his own Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates is currently focused on helping 2 billion people around the world get access to better sanitation and clean water, so it's easy to see why he's not too fond of efforts mainly directed at the 1% of the world that can afford life-extending remedies.
In September 2013, shortly after Google announced Calico, Gates even told Business Insider that the most notable aspect of Google's new immortality venture was the fact that people were "paying attention." Beyond that, Gates cares much more about global health.
"It doesn't connect to anything else," he said about Calico at the time. "They're not out of money, they still have more money they could give to help poor people."