WELCOME BACK TO "A LATE SHOW."

JOINING ME NOW IS THE CO-CHAIR OF THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES

FOUNDATION WHO'S WRITTEN A NEW BOOK CALLED "HOW TO AVOID A

CLIMATE DISASTER."

PLEASE WELCOME, BILL GATES!

BIGOT, THANKS FOR BEING HERE!

>> YOU GOT IT!

>> Stephen: NOW, WE'RE GOING TO GET TO CLIMATE AND HOW TO

AVOID THE AT THIS SISTER AND ALL THE AMAZING THINGS B THAT YOU

AND MELINDA DO AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS, BUT THE REASON

YOU CAN DO ALL THOSE THINGS IS THAT YOU'RE REALLY, REALLY,

REALLY RICH.

AND, SO, I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION THAT I'VE INTERVIEWED

YOU MANY TIMES BUT I'VE NEVER ASKED YOU THE QUESTION AND IT'S

ALWAYS BEEN IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD AND EVERYBODY'S HEAD, WHAT

DOES IT FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU BECOME THE RICHEST MAN IN THE

WORLD?

IS THAT A GOOD FEELING?

>> WELL, THERE'S A RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE THAT

MONEY BACK IN A SMART WAY.

>> Stephen: NOT EVERYBODY FEELS THAT RESPONSIBILITY,

THOUGH.

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY, GIVE ME MORE.

WELL, IT WAS GRATIFYING THE DREAM OF SOFTWARE THAT I HAD

BASICALLY CAME TRUE, AND NOW I GET TO GIVE IT AWAY.

>> Stephen: DO YOU HAVE A 400-FOOT RACING BOAT THAT HOVERS

ON LITTLE SKIS AND GOES AROUND THE WORLD, LIKE SUPER CRAZY RICH

GUY STUFF?

>> I OWN A Da VINCI NOTEBOOK, WHICH THAT'S PRETTY COOL.

>> Stephen: DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!

THE JUDGES!

YES, YES!

LAST QUESTION ON THIS AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE GOOD STUFF.

IN 2008, WHEN YOU WERE NO LONGER THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD,

WHEN WARREN BUFFETT SNAKED IT AWAY FROM YOU, DID IT STING AT

ALL?

>> OH, NO, WARREN'S ALSO A HUGE CONTRIBUTOR TO THE GIVING OF THE

GATES FOUNDATION AND A VERY GOOD FRIEND OF MINE.

>> Stephen: OKAY, OKAY.

O -- >> Stephen: BUT YOU GOT IT

BACK IN 2009.

YOU WERE THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD AGAIN.

AND THE THE NEXT YEAR CARLOS SLIM COMES IN.

DON'T TELL ME I'M BIG BUDDIES WITH CARLOS SLIM.

THAT HAD TO STING A LITTLE BIT.

YOU'RE A COMPETITIVE GUY.

>> YOU KNOW, THE REASON I SHOULD DROP ON THE LIST CONTINUOUSLY

BECAUSE OF GIVING MONEY AWAY AND, YOU KNOW, SOME DAY I WON'T

BE ON THE LIST AT ALL.

>> Stephen: ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

I CAN HELP YOU WITH GIVING THAT MONEY STUFF AWAY.

I'M RIGHT HERE, AND I'M SUPER GOOD, GENEROUS GUY, TOO.

THINK OF ME AS A FUNNEL, A FUNNEL!

DADDY JUST TAKES A LITTLE OFF THE TOP, GETS HIS BEAK WET, AND

ALL THE PEOPLE I'LL HELP, YOU WILL LOVE IT.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN DURING COVID.

WHICH I CAN'T BELIEVE.

EITHER YOU AND I TALK A LOT OR COVID HAS GONE ON A LONG TIME,

AND I THINK IT'S THE SECOND ONE.

YOU SAID BACK THEN THAT BASICALLY THIS IS GOING TO BE --

THE TIMELINE IS ALL GOING TO BE BASED ON DEVELOPMENT AND

DISTRIBUTION OF VACCINES.

WE'VE GOT THEM NOW.

WHAT'S THE TIMELINE FOR GOING BACK TO NORMAL, IF YOUR MIND?

>> WELL, IT'S REALLY PHENOMENAL WHAT THE VACCINE COMPANIES HAVE

DONE, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL SUPPLY LIMITED, THE LOGISTICS

ARE STILL GETTING WORKED UP, BUT CERTAINLY BY SUMMER WE WILL BE

DEMAND LIMITED AND WE SHOULD GET TRUST THE VACCINE, WE'LL GET TO

A LEVEL WHERE OUR FALL WILL BE PRETTY NORMAL.

MAYBE SOME MASKS, MAYBE NOT BIG PUBLIC EVENTS, BUT ALL THE

SCHOOLS, RESTAURANTS AT SOME LEVEL, FALL WILL BE

COMPARATIVELY NORMAL.

>> Stephen: HALLOWEEN PARTIES?

THAT'S ON THE MARGIN.

IF YOU LIKE, SOCIAL DISTANCING STILL AT THAT POINT.

>> Stephen: YOU SAID THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE,

GETTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN GOING, CERTAINLY THERE WERE WEATHER

PROBLEMS LAST WEEK, WITH THE BIG BLIZZARDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE

COUNTRY GETTING IT OUT TO PEOPLE, AND, ALSO, ANTI-VAXXERS,

PEOPLE WHO ARE SAYING -- A GUY LITERALLY BUTTON HOLED ME IN THE

PARKING LOT OF MY GROCERY STORE THE OTHER DAY AND SAID I'VE GOT

TO SEND YOU DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT BILL GATES, DON'T TAKE THOSE

VACCINES.

I SAID, I'M GOING TO TAKE THE VACCINE.

IF HE PUTS A CHIP IN ME AND CONTROLS MY BODY, THAT'S FINE, I

JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO HUG MY INLAWS.

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE TO CONVINCE PEOPLE, IN YOUR MIND, THAT THE

VACCINE IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND DOES IT INVOLVE AT ALL

TALKING TO SULTANS, WHICH YOU DID IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TO GET

PEOPLE TO TAKE THE POLIO VACCINE.

>> THE RUMORS WERE THAT WAS TO STERILE ITS WOMEN.

THE RULER MET WITH ME, IT WAS QUITE SOMETHING TO GO TO HIS

PALACE, BUT HE PERSONALLY HAD HIS KIDS TAKE THE VACCINE, AND

HAD ALL OF THE OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND, SO, THAT MADE A

HUGE DIFFERENCE.

AND, SO, WE WERE ABLE TO ANNOUNCE THAT, WHILE POLIO WAS

COMPLETELY GONE FROM AFRICA LAST YEAR, WE'RE DOWN TO TWO

COUNTRIES, AND GETTING THESE MESSAGES OUT, YOU NEED TO FIGURE

OUT WHO PEOPLE TRUST, THAT THEY'LL FOLLOW, YOU KNOW, AND

WHETHER IT'S PEOPLE OF COLOR OR VARIOUS RELIGIOUS GROUPS.

WE SOMEHOW NEED TO GET THE WORD OUT, THIS IS QUITE AN AMAZING

VACCINE THAT HELPS EVERYONE.

>> Stephen: YOU WANT A TEAM OF PANDEMIC FIREFIGHTERS IN THE

FUTURE.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?

>> WELL, WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HITS YOU NEED PEOPLE WHOSE

SKILLS OF TRACKING INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND THE VARIANTS AND THE

NUMBERS THAT THEY ARE TOTALLY UP TO DATE AND READY TO GO.

AND, SO, IF WE HAVE THIS SORT OF FIRE SQUAD OF 3,000 PEOPLE WITH

THOSE SKILLS, THEY CAN BE WORKING ON MALARIA OR MEASLES,

BUT THEN WHEN ANY HINT OF THE PANDEMIC COMES, THEY'LL GO AND

SPECIALIZE AND REALLY TRY AND STOP IT BEFORE IT GETS

WIDESPREAD.

UNLESS YOU HAVE THOSE PEOPLE READY TO GO AND FULLY UP TO DATE

ON THEIR SKILLS, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO CATCH IT EARLY.

>> Stephen: WELL, DURING THIS QUARANTINE, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE

TAKEN UP SOME SIDE PROJECTS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BAKING OR DOING

CROSSWORD PUZZLES.

YOU DID A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ONE.

YOU WROTE THIS BOOK, HOW TO AVOID A CLIMATE CRISIS.

HOW DO WE AVOID IT, WHEN THE "NEW YORK TIMES" IS ALREADY

REPORTING THAT CLIMATE DISRUPTION IS ALREADY BAKED IN

TO OUR FUTURE?

>> WELL, WHAT WE DO AS FAST AS WE CAN, WE TAKE OUR CURRENT

EMISSIONS, WHICH IS 51 BILLION TONS, TO EQUIVALENTS

AND DROP IT ALL THE WAY TO ZERO.

NOW, THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY, VERY HARD.

IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST ALL 30 YEARS, WE'LL HAVE TO USE ALL OF

THOSE YEARS, AND THERE WILL HAVE TO BE A LOT OF INNOVATION.

SO WE HAVE TO LEARN, OKAY, ALL THE SOURCES OF EMISSIONS, NOT

JUST CARS, BUT ALSO MAKING THINGS LIKE STEEL AND COMMENT

AND AGRICULTURE, AVIATION FUEL.

BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE SOURCES, IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A BROAD

SET OF INNOVATIVE COMPANIES AND POLICIES WHERE WE'RE BUYING

THESE GREEN PRODUCTS AND GETTING THE COST TO BE MUCH LOWER FOR

BEING GREEN.

>> Stephen: THESE CHALLENGES ARE ENORMOUS, AND CERTAINLY IN

THE UNITED STATES THE MOST BOLD PROPOSAL IS THE GREEN NEW DEAL,

THOUGH THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ALSO HAS SOMS PROPOSALS THEY

HAVEN'T ROLLED OUT YET, BUT THEY CLAIM TO BE SWINGING FROM THE

FENCES.

WHO'S DOING A GOOD JOB IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW AT THIS?

WHO'S WORKING THE HARDEST TO PREVENT IT?

>> WELL, THE U.K. IS VERY IMPRESSIVE BECAUSE THEY HAVE

ALMOST NO COAL PLANTS LEFT, AND THEY WERE THE START OF THE COAL

BASED INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

THEY ARE GETTING THE OFFSHORE WIND TO COST A LOT LESS.

NORWAY BUYS THE MOST ELECTRIC CARS.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF LEADERS, BUT THE U.S. IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

BECAUSE WE CAN INNOVATE.

WE HAVE UNIVERSITIES, NATIONAL LABS, RISK CAPITOL.

WE LOOK TO THE WORLD TO MAKE ALL THESE GREEN PRODUCTS VERY CHEAP,

AND THAT WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO EXPORT THOSE PRODUCTS AS

WELL.

>> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK, BUT WHEN WE COME

BACK, I'LL ASK BILL GATES ABOUT THIS GUY.

STICK AROUND.