Word: rocks
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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That night the Gateses went to their first U2 concert. The next night they went back to see it again. They were stunned by the way Bono could move thousands of people at a rock concert to vow to make poverty history. "You always worry for him when he gets up onstage to say these things," says Melinda. "Yeah, [we think] Oh, no, these are normal people here!" says Bill. Bono slept at their house, and the three of them stayed up until 3 a.m. scheming about the G-8 summit and listening to Bono's impressions of Martin Luther...
These are not the people you expect to come to the rescue. Rock stars are designed to be shiny, shallow creatures, furloughed from reality for all time. Billionaires are even more removed, nestled atop fantastic wealth where they never again have to place their own calls or defrost dinner or fly commercial. So Bono spends several thousand dollars at a restaurant for a nice Pinot Noir, and Bill Gates, the great predator of the Internet age, has a trampoline room in his $100 million house. It makes you think that if these guys can decide to make it their mission...
...because he's demanding efficiency." His rigor has been a blessing to everyone--not least of all Bono, who was at particular risk of not being taken seriously, just another guilty white guy pestering people for more money without focusing on where it goes. "When an Irish rock star starts talking about it, people go, yeah, you're paid to be indulged and have these ideas," Bono says. "But when Bill Gates says you can fix malaria in 10 years, they know he's done a few spreadsheets...
Meanwhile, charitainment became a bona fide TV genre. Joining the ABC do-gooder hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Oprah's giveaways and crusades was Three Wishes, in which Christian-rock singer Amy Grant bestows largesse on needy people every week. Time was, the occasional celebrity like Audrey Hepburn would lend her profile to a cause. But Grant and Makeover's Ty Pennington are a distinct kind of charitainment star, celebrities whose good deeds are their chief claim to fame. Their shows aim not just to solve personal problems (help autistic kids, build a school library) but also to salve...
MELINDA GATES: We'd certainly never had a rock star to the house before, but the whole reason we got together is because we have this joint cause. [To Bono] I have to be honest, we kind of came a lot later to your music than other people...