Courtesy of gatesletter.com

Buffett agrees that such extreme wealth inequality needs a fix. In fact, "the real problem" with the U.S. economy is people like him, says the billionaire. "The prosperity has been unbelievable for the extremely rich people" but money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few. "If you go to 1982, when Forbes put on their first 400 list, those people had [a total of] $93 billion. They now have $2.4 trillion, [a multiple of] 25 for one. This has been a prosperity that's been disproportionately rewarding to the people on top." While she acknowledged that the wealth gap is "not fair," Melinda adds that she and Bill "use whatever influence we have, to help as many people as possible and to advance equity around the world." In 2017, the power couple donated around $4.6 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charity foundation, which focuses on improving people's health, well-being and education.