Prince William: Billionaires should focus on earth’s problems, not a space race

The Cambridges visit Kew Gardens

One of the craziest things about 2021 is that we have all of these problems like the rise of white nationalism, structural racism and inequality, broken infrastructure, war, pestilence and a literal global pandemic and the richest men in the world are all singularly focused on a big d–k competition in the form of “who has the better private space program.” Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into their billionaire space race and it’s the worst. It’s so bad, even Prince William is saying something negative about it. The same Prince William who has never had his finger on the pulse of any issue, the same Prince William who travels everywhere by private helicopter and private jet. THAT Prince William is like “hey maybe billionaires could use those resources to fix some of the earth’s problems?” And I find myself agreeing with him.

Prince William spoke to the BBC’s Newscast ahead of the first Earthshot Prize to reward those trying to save the planet. Speaking about the current space race and the drive to promote space tourism, William said: “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live. I think that ultimately is what sold it for me – that really is quite crucial to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future.”

William told Newscast’s Adam Fleming he had “absolutely no interest” in going as high as space, adding there was a “fundamental question” over the carbon cost of space flights.

He warned there was “a rise in climate anxiety” among young people who whose “futures are basically threatened the whole time”.

“It’s very unnerving and it’s very, you know, anxiety making,” he said.

The father-of-three challenged adults to channel their inner child to “remember how much it meant to be outdoors and what we’re robbing those future generations of”.

William also said his father, Prince Charles, had a “rough ride” when warning about climate change, adding: “It’s been a hard road for him.” He said Charles, inspired by his father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, “talked about climate change a lot more, very early on, before anyone else thought it was a topic”.

“But it shouldn’t be that there’s a third generation now coming along having to ramp it up even more. For me, it would be an absolute disaster if George (his eldest child) is sat here … in like 30 years’ time whatever, still saying the same thing, because by then we will be too late.”

In an echo of his father’s message earlier this week, William also said the upcoming U.N. Climate Change Conference COP26 summit in Scotland had to deliver. “We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action,” William said.

[From The BBC and Reuters]

Again, I’m not saying that I’m Team Keen all of a sudden. But William is right about this issue, the issue of “billionaires need to stop wasting all of their time, money and resources on private space travel.” Imagine if Branson, Bezos and Musk had spent all of that money targeting one environmental problem, like cheap, effective and carbon-neutral mass desalination or protecting rainforests and wildlife habitats. It’s insane.

I’ve seen some royal reporters suggest that William is probably uncomfortable with how much attention his comments are getting today. I doubt it. While his comments border on “political” or simply “not neutral,” William knows that this will probably be the thing that draws more attention to the Keenshot Prize Awards on Sunday. God knows, nothing else from his campaign has gotten much attention.

The Cambridges visit Kew Gardens

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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220 Responses to “Prince William: Billionaires should focus on earth’s problems, not a space race”

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  1. lanne says:

    Something something political something? Isn’t he supposed to just shut up and be grateful? Or is that just Meghan?

  2. Moderatelywealthy says:

    I agree with William’s comment and overall sentiment and it is nice of him to give credit to Charles , but the message would surely be stronger if both men were not so addicted to helicopter and private flying.

    Harry does to but sparingly and he dies not have his own jet or helicopter like his father and brother, he rather rents it or get a ride from a friend, so in this William should definitely copy his brother.

    • Jan90067 says:

      And yet no one yells “ECO-HYPOCRITE” in headlines when he and his wife take a personal heli everywhere, or private jets…wonder why…hmmm…..

      Also, besides HIS and his family’s HUGE carbon footprint, how ’bout asking Ol’ Brenda to not use Queen’s Consent to get HER properties exempt from regulations, or use some of HER HALF A BILLION POUND *PERSONAL* FORTUNE for some good?

      What’s that Bitter Bill??? Do as I SAY, not as I DO??? Right.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Jan90067, of course that is Burger Kings stance!! Why not insult a few billionaires at the chance of propping up my own “achievements”? Granted Chaz is trying to make a difference in his own carbon footprint, until Burger King dumps his toys, it’s all background noise. His great grandfather was also concerned about climate change in his life when he passed in the mid ‘50’s? WTF? Talk about pulling facts from your arse…

        On top of that, I am reminded of someone posting the ridiculous article of when Harry and Meghan were still working Royals and traveled by private plane. So the Lamebridges pulled the stunt flying an aircraft empty for 2 routes to use it as a photo op!!!!

      • Christine says:

        I appreciate you both, your levels of outrage are matching my own.

        The audacity of William, calling out billionaires who MADE THEIR OWN F*CKING MONEY, instead of being merely a member of the richest welfare recipients on the planet is galling beyond measure. Good Lord, go do something, ANYTHING, Wills, of ANY VALUE to ANYONE, then yell at people who donate more of their own money than you take from taxpayers. The crusty balls on this man, I cannot even.

        This is no different from the royal family yelling at Harry and Meghan about bathrooms, by RR proxy, that they paid for. I am willing to give Charles a “thank you”, on this issue, but Wills is insane if he thinks he has a leg to stand on.

    • Lorelei says:

      @ModeratelyWealthy, ITA. I’m shocked to find myself agreeing with William, but I do. The thought of spending that kind of money so that this handful of people (rich, white dudes) can have a fun little minutes-long jaunt into space when there are still human beings here on earth who are dying of starvation every single day, or still don’t have clean water? It seems wrong to me and it always has.

      @MMadison, an opinion different from yours is not “juvenile,” it’s a difference of opinion, and imo what IS juvenile is writing off anyone who disagrees with you. This is always a polarizing subject, though, so lots of us here on CB will just have to agree to disagree.

      And ITA that both Charles’s and William’s arguments, however valid they may be, lack credibility because they won’t stop with the private flights and helicopters. It’s impossible to take them seriously if they’re not even willing to sacrifice this one thing.

      Even if their carbon footprints combined are relatively tiny, the optics are terrible, and even if the BRF giving them up was mainly symbolic and wouldn’t make much of an impact, it would go a long way toward people not automatically dismissing them as hypocritical.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      Not to mention having multiple large palaces, (and for William, having three kids), and basically consuming more resources than the average person with their multiple vehicles, travelling, and staff that accompany them everywhere. The royal family contributes way more than their fair share of pollution.

      However, I also don’t want to criticize the message just because I don’t like the messenger. People mocked Al Gore (including me) because he was so concerned about climate change while living in his huge mansion with his five kids. Yes, he was a hypocrite, but that doesn’t mean that his MESSAGE was incorrect.

      • Nic919 says:

        Al Gore hasn’t used up a fraction of the resources that William has so while this was a GOP talking point, the fact remains that William uses up more resources than hundreds of thousands of people and he doesn’t even pretend to try to change. At least Charles understands some effort needs to be made.
        Al Gore has one nice house, whereas William has three that we know of and in line to inherit so many more.

  3. DuchessL says:

    Well, i like this comment. Something not beige and vanilla for once. I agree.

    • dido says:

      I agree with him too. I get that it’s hypocritical but I like that, for once, he’s using his position of power to make an actual statement. Not fluffy mumbles like the other Keen. If the royals actually used their influence to change behaviours that would save the world, I’d have more respect for them.

    • Keekey says:

      Yep. For once, Will and I are in agreement. And the sending Shatner into space PR stunt was so ridiculous.

    • MipMip says:

      I agree with him too. We all know the motivation behind this statement is not pure but he is a visible public figure and his words are getting attention. It helps to have the people at the “top” calling out the billionaires so for once, good job Egg.

    • The Recluse says:

      It doesn’t hurt to say it, right? Because he isn’t wrong on this front, despite his own entitled position.

  4. GraceB says:

    William really does have a point. Their money could be making a real difference, but instead just becomes a new way to compare penis size. It used to be all about who had the biggest yacht, but now it’s all about space.

    I love that even Kaiser now feels the need to add the fact that they’re not team Cambridge when writing anything even remotely positive about the Cambridges.

    • Sid says:

      And yet, William happily accepted a donation from Bezos for the Earthshot project. I am not convinced he cares about the billionaire space race one way or another. He is just jumping on a popular discussion topic to get some attention for “project” and play at being a statesman. And now he is getting dragged and even the rota rats are saying KP is likely not happy about how it is coming across in the media.

    • aftershocks says:

      ^^ @GraceB, the point here really isn’t to find “something positive” to say about the Cambridges! If you think that’s the point, then par for the course for William using his status to distract and to garner ‘positive’ p.r. for his pitiful self.

      The Cambridges are all kinds of smarmy, useless, over-reactionary, egregiously enabled, and over-entitled. The only positive thing I see in their favor, is their sweet-natured children. But yeah, their offspring are innocent children whom I also feel quite sorry for on a number of levels.

      The rest of the arguments in here are moot as pertains to the contrarily over-inflated royals. Bottom line: William’s comments are insincere, self-interested fluff, designed to make him feel important. What else is new(s) when it comes to W&K’s sad, petty existence?!

  5. Pao says:

    I agree with him but is nobody going to call out his hypocrisy? Also, isn’t tesla one if the main car brands focused on electric cars?

    • Seraphina says:

      This is why I will not give him credit, while I too agree with him, his hypocrisy diminishes any worth his statement may have. Yet again, we have a prince, who will be king, saying do as I say but not as I do.

    • Myra says:

      Yup. His statement does not hold any weight since he uses a helicopter for normal commute.

    • Kfg says:

      Yes but Tesla causes serious problems bc they mine materials in African countries and destroy those environments. Elon Musk is a racist weirdo.

      • BABSORIG says:

        KFG, yeah so let William the chief colonialist start preaching to us Africans about who should do what with their hard earned money🙄🙄 Didn’t William and family sic their lawyers on the Malta minister who wanted the shark fossil tooth Attenborough stole from Malta to be returned to its rightful country instead of being given to George Cambridge? Please William needs to shut his pie hole. The British Royal family , the British gov. and their museums up to this day refuse to return the treasures they stole from Africa and from Asia, William has no room to tell anyone anything.

      • Kfg says:

        BABSBorg: not supporting him just pointing out that the “slef-made” billionaires are more similar to wills than dissimilar. Elon musk inherited an emerald mine. Sir Richard branson is an aristo, bezos family financed Amazon. The British exploitation is some bs and I can’t wait for colonized countries to sue for their shit back. Sue all European countries that benefitted from their exploitation. I’m not defending will I’m saying defending billionaires is dumb as they cause most of the problems now.

      • BABSORIG says:

        @Kfg, I don’t get your point, isn’t William and his family THE chief billionaires that enriched themselves by exploiting POC and stealing from our lands? so its okay to defend/agree with billionaire hypocrite William but not okay to agree with/defend the OTHER billionaires? Isn’t the monarchy/queen,/soon-to-be king Charles and soon after to be king William the ones exploiting the system the most by lobbying to be exempted from environment laws? How about William vacate one of his many homes, stop using his helicopter or and use some of his money to save the earth? How about he returns the stolen shark fossil tooth Attenborough gifted George to Malta? Until he does any of the above, I don’t want to hear him bleating and preaching to anyone.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ BABSORIG, excellent point of The Monarchy outright stealing from the countries they pillaged for centuries!! Hand back the jewels and every other treasure/artifacts that you stole!!

  6. Amy Bee says:

    I agree. William is happy with the media response to his anti-space travel comments. It gets his Earthshot Prize some much needed attention. It would’ve even better if he was critical of capitalism but that would be step too far.

  7. Lucylee says:

    He would be on one of those flights if someone told him his brother was going to do it.

    • Becks1 says:

      COTW!

      ETA omg, I bet you his team tried to get him on one of the flights, like Branson’s, and he was turned down so now he’s mad lol

    • Layla says:

      I believe that 100%.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      And that’s the crux of the matter.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Yes!! I bet he did ask Branson, but wasn’t willing to pay to fly!! He probably thought that he deserved a free ride! While he lives a lifetime of free rides off of the backs of everyone else!!

      • Kelly says:

        Branson probably already told him that Mork from Ork was the first to fly an egg from space and didn’t want to ragdoll repeat.

    • Rapunzel says:

      Lol… did you see the video/pictures where Will is walking a beam? With a helmet and a bunch of folks with hands out ready to catch him if he falls?

      Will would have to be wrapped in bubble wrap to go to space.

    • Lorelei says:

      @LucyLee, lmfao! 🏆

  8. If he actually TRULY believed this, then he would give up two out of the three mansions they have as homes. But like always, he is all talk and zero walk.

    • Sid says:

      I’m still amazed at the 54 helicopter trips during 2020. A year where there were basically no public engagements because of the pandemic. What exactly were all those trips for?

  9. Enny says:

    “It’s, er, very anxiety-making.” 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

  10. EllenOlenska says:

    Will play contrarian give Elon Musk and space X some major props here. They actually developed reusable booster rockets that are recycled and reused. It was a major advance in space fight. Elon is freaky weird and god help any woman who breeds with or dates him but he did come up with that. ( see Falcon 9 booster rocket). Not to mention Tesla.

    But yes, would be great if people would focus their energies here. I think William should help the food supply in GB by turning all of Amner into a farm. Tear up the helipad and the tennis courts as a start.

    • Amy Bee says:

      The problem in the UK is not that the lack of food, it’s the lack of drivers to transport the food to the supermarkets and the lack of people work on the farms.

      • EllenOlenska says:

        He and Kate both have drivers licenses 😉

      • lanne says:

        Hey the Queen worked as a mechanic during WW2. Kate and Will should volunteer to drive trucks during this crisis. They would. Certainly win some major cool points that way! Service, y’all!

      • notasugarhere says:

        50 percent of all fresh fruits and veg sold in the UK are imported, Amy Bee. The problem is not as simple as lack of drivers, including that the UK has failed to support internal agriculture for decades.

      • Tessa says:

        The trouble with William and Kate volunteering for anything is that they would be remiss IMO and miss shifts. He did that with the air ambulance job created just for him.

    • goofpuff says:

      Elon didn’t come up with any of that. The credit goes to the engineers. He just stamps his name on things and is good at getting funding. He likes to play engineer, but he really does not know what he is talking about.

  11. Cessily says:

    On that same note the BRF could open their personal coffers to help UNICEF feed British children and I’m sure the cost of the helicopters could be better spent on environmental protection projects.
    I think the billionaire rocket race is ridiculous but coming from someone with his carbon footprint and hidden family assets along with a history of the procurement of other nations wealth and resources through colonization, it is ridiculous to try to take some moral high ground.

  12. Becks1 says:

    Of course he is right about the billionaires. I’m only giving him a smidge of credit for that because it’s such low-hanging fruit. Almost everyone thinks the billionaires are just engaged in some sort of big d*ck measuring contest like Kaiser said. Who says, “yes, this is what the planet needs right now, Jeff Bezos and Branson and Elon Musk going to space”?

    But he loses any of that smidge of credit when we look at his own life – does he own any electric cars? Has any of Anmer been used for solar fields? Has he made any moves to have Anmer or Kensington operate in a more environmentally friendly way? Has he curtailed his use of the private helicopter or private jets? No? Then he can shut up.

    when he talks about the environment I really think it shows what a lightweight he is – its all about making George has a place to play outside.

    • Becks1 says:

      Also William seems to be overlooking the fact that his grandmother is a billionaire who requested to be exempt from Scottish environmental laws, so if I were him I wouldn’t go crazy on criticizing the billionaires just yet.

      • Cessily says:

        Exactly 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 The Monarchy is more than welcome to give up all their climate law exemptions, let’s start there.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Becks, remember this is the same dude who had the audacity to preach about how people should have fewer children, while his own wife was pregnant with (or would soon be) their *third* child. He could not be more hypocritical or less self-aware if he tried. He’s simply a dunce.

        But yeah I agree with him on this one thing. It pains me to agree with him on anything, and it probably won’t happen again for at least another decade, lol.

      • Becks1 says:

        @Lorelei – but that’s my point. Almost everyone agrees with him on this. That’s why I said its low hanging fruit. And its not like he was saying this back in July when they were first starting to go up. He actually doesn’t care if Branson et al go to space, he cares that he can say this and his comments will finally get picked up by someone other than the british tabloids for once.

        It’s not dissimilar to the Andrew situation – William wants it known NOW that he doesnt like Andrew and he wants Andrew gone as a working royal permanently…..which is a “blindingly obvious” position to take, especially after Virginia’s lawsuit. He gets no points for taking that stance. Here, a lot of people agree with him and think these space billionaires are aholes, so he gets no credit from me for taking this stance. It’s a pretty easy stance to take.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Becks, of course, you’re totally right, but it isn’t as if William would ever come out and say something that needed to be said, but that he might get pushback about. Which is a shame because Diana changed attitudes about AIDS and was brave enough to tackle the land mine issue, so he had an excellent example set for him, but it seems only Harry is genuinely carrying out work which is out of the very narrow comfort zone of most royals. We don’t even know how well-informed William is…he strikes me as the type to skim the headlines on his way to the Sports section.

        I mean, ten years in and all we know about Kate is that she believes children should be taken care of as well as possible during the first few years of their lives. Groundbreaking stuff from both the Cambridges!

  13. MMadison says:

    William’s comment is ridiculous. We can focus on BOTH space technology and climate. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. All the billionaires can put all of their money behind climate and it want do a thing until countries like CHINA get with the program. Food for thought: Had it not been for space technology and exploration the computer you’re using to read and comment on celebitchy would not have been discovered….instead you would still be using William’s typewriter.

    • JMoreno says:

      I agree. Why the singular focus? There is so much we learn from space exploration and technology. Really one has nothing to do with the other. Blaming Billionaires for climate is completely ridiculous.

    • Becks1 says:

      It’s also funny bc the name, Earthshot, is based on Kennedy’s Moonshot and the race to get to the moon in the 60s.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Mmadison: Why are you singling out China? The Western world are the bigger culprits. Environmental degradation was started by colonialism and has been accelerated by capitalism.

    • MMadison says:

      @Amy Bee: China is the biggest world polluter…PERIOD. 30% of the worlds emissions comes from China. This is a FACT

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Mmadison: That means 70% of the pollution comes from the rest of world and the majority of that comes from the rich countries of the west. China is a contributor but it’s not the bogeyman you want it to be.

    • MMadison says:

      @Becks1: Brilliant point! Seriously does he not think before he speaks. Space travel is about developing new technology. I just don’t see the connection between William attacking space exploration vs climate. Makes ZERO sense.

    • Mac says:

      NASA has a policy where it makes all of its scientific data publicly available for free. These billionaires are using science and technology funded by tax payers to feed their egos and they are keeping their science and technology to themselves.

      I find it hysterical that people are defending three of the greediest people in planet because William rightly criticized them.

    • Kfg says:

      Because it wasn’t new space tech. All 3 billionaires used public funded info to go to space. They’re also responsible for the higher carbon emissions. So maybe now that they’ve had their pissing contest they can I don’t know stop polluting and leave assist with fixing the mess they helped create?

    • MMadison says:

      Like William we have quiet a few novice discussing a topic they should stay clear of and remain silent. William should focus on opening new buildings and planting trees.

    • MMadison says:

      1. NASA welcomes the partnership with private companies that want to explore space. This “public” funded information isn’t something we speak of in America. We love public funded information to be shared not remain a secret.
      2. William telling anyone who EARNED their money how to spend it is laughable and completely ridiculous.
      3. China is a bogeyman and if you don’t know that simple fact well there’s not much I can say to you.
      4. Public funded info??? WTF. Seriously do you really believe that William is more environmentally conscious than anyone else on the planet….including you?

    • Betsy says:

      @Amy Bee –
      China – 30%
      US – 15%
      India – 7%
      Russia – 5%
      Japan – 4%

      It’s worth a mention how much pollution they produce.

    • Becks1 says:

      @Mac – most people aren’t defending the billionaires. We’re saying that William calling out these billionaires is weak at best and hypocritical at worst, considering Bezos donated money to his Earthshot prize and William is a future billionaire who thus far has made no serious efforts to do anything about the environment, and who would probably be on one of those space trips if he was asked.

      Bezos et al are “problematic” to put it mildly for many reasons, including this. William doesn’t get points for me because he’s saying something that many others have said for months now.

      ETA I take it back, I read more comments and some people ARE actually defending the billionaires. LOL.

    • JMoreno says:

      @Cathy: China isn’t a developing country. China is currently the USA biggest competition across so many different areas including technology (which they love to steal).
      European ancestors responsible for hole in the ozone….really??? Seriously who is dumping waste in Asian countries…where are you getting your information???

    • Shawna says:

      Private, for-profit space tourism ain’t the same thing as exploratory, taxpayer funded space research.

    • Emma says:

      MMMadison, you said “Had it not been for space technology and exploration the computer you’re using to read and comment on celebitchy would not have been discovered….” I don’t know where you are getting that but I just don’t see any sources that indicate that. Computers were already under development. The internet was developed outside the space race.

      Furthermore the space exploration funded by the government in the 1960s is very different from space tourism for a few today funded privately by one billionaire.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      @Mmadison and Betsy — China contributes 29% of emissions, and has 18% of the world’s population. By comparison, the USA contributes 14% of emissions, but only has 4% of the world’s population. That means PER CAPITA, the USA is TWICE as big a polluter than China. Yeah, it’s sad and unnerving to have to admit that, but we are. We need to stop using China as a scapegoat and look in the mirror instead.

    • MMadison says:

      @Emma: If only you knew and if only I could say more. Just remember almost anything improves and develops faster in the private sector. To have Billionaires take the lead in this aspect of space travel is huge a win for NASA. Those of us that have spent decades in research and development know that William is clueless and should STFU….for the sake of Science he should stick to planting trees.

    • Chana says:

      It is true that China makes around 30% of global emissions. It is also true that they make up 28% of global manufacturing, and hold around 30% of the worlds population. Meanwhile, US emissions are around 15% of total world output, manufacturing at 16%, and hold around 4% of the worlds population.

      China should be held accountable, but I think many would like to completely put the climate change discussion on to China without acknowledging our disproportionate consumption of fossil fuels per capita and our demand for cheap disposable products (which is Amazon’s entire business model). There is a discussion about individual choices and global policy that needs to be had when it comes to climate change.

      Also, the internet was invented to protect the US from nuclear war, not necessarily the space race. But if Jeff Bezos invents another internet from his little trips to space, then I’ll admit I was wrong about him!

    • JMoreno says:

      Seems to me William has backed himself into a corner. Now he must show what he’s personally doing to protect the earth. William why not start by listing how much money you have given and to whom to save the planet, unless this is just hypocrisy and complete BS on your part. The Billionaires should come forward with their charitable contributions to the planet and compare to William’s. That would be great!!

    • Nic919 says:

      William’s own grandma is one of those billionaires and he will be inheriting all of it so he really needs to sit down. He’s lived a lifestyle on his own that has used up more carbon and resources than whole cities.

      So he needs to sit out of this one. Because his direct family is part of the actual problem here.

    • Annie says:

      Will is just repeating what literally thousands of people having been saying via Memes, Twitter, Facebook ect.

      You won’t find many who support these Billionaires and their selfish race to space. They are not motivated by bettering our world or making improvements in some form for tech.

      I’m all for tech advances that makes sense… these guys are legit playing who’s D is bigger with Rockets and not many people are here for it and they don’t care either because EGO

    • Annaloo. says:

      I think, to be fair, Western consumption of Chinese manufactured goods is another issue not to be ignored. Fast fashion (H&M, SheIn, Forever 21, etc) is a great example of one of the most polluting industries in the world today.

    • PrincessK says:

      Blaming China for everything is just one thing. Nobody talks about the fact that most of the things produced in China are bound for Europe and America because of insatiable consumer demand. If we all changed our lifestyles, throwaway culture and massive demand for products that takes so much energy to make then we would see real change.

    • L4frimaire says:

      @MMadison totally agree. He’s always late but always wanting all the credit. What exactly has he done that deserves so much praise? Criticize those who are easy to criticize, but at the same time, when that critical lens is trained on him, it gets shut down immediately. No mention of his hundreds of helicopter flights. He could be right, which by the way he isn’t, because it’s more complex than that , and he should still be dragged. How is he that much different from these guys, apart from being way lazier? Does he pay his fair share of taxes, treat those around him well ( certainly not his brother’s family) and what does he take from the taxpayer? How much leverage does he have on public policy ( hello Crown exempt from climate legislation, and they literally own all the seabed’s in the UK ). Oh right he doesn’t innovate anything or built anything. Seriously, f*ck that dude.

  14. Layla says:

    The same way he should stop creating a petty competition with his more successful and popular brother for attention?
    I agree with him on the futility of a space race but until he starts putting his money where his mouth is he’s still a massive hypocrite.
    Does “Earthshot” involve him contributing from his own pocket? Likely answer, no. Until it does he needs to stop preaching to other people and maybe lead by example

  15. Lili says:

    I dont think William should be taking swips at people that have achieved a lot in life, at least these guys are out there making stuff, the Kindle, Tesla , etc even his own father has found away to make his car run on cheese and wine, Eccentric maybe but at least his hat is in the ring.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Lili: Bezos etc wouldn’t be where they are if they weren’t exploiting the working class. They can be innovative without exploitation but they wouldn’t be billionaires.

      • Becks1 says:

        Of course not – but that’s even more true for the British royal family. They wouldn’t be where they are without exploitation, colonization etc. Both sets of billionaires are pretty deplorable so getting into a debate over who is “better” is kind of silly. Anyone with that much money got it by exploiting others and exploiting the system or propping up the system to make sure they get to keep their money.

      • goofpuff says:

        That is literally the definition of the royal family. They are where they are by exploiting through colonialism.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      Lili I also take offence with William the bully, taking a swipe at what he perceives to be an easy target. I honestly have a problem with telling people how to spend their money and guilting them into doing what you want them to do. He always wants to tell other people what to do without being introspective and looking at himself.

      He , the racist, the gaslighter, the cheater, the basher, the gas guzzler, divisive personality, helicopter hopper, FlyBe user etc. is NOT the person to deliver any message. Baldemort is nobody’s hero.

    • Betsy says:

      Oof, no, I’m not going to agree with that. I have to agree with @Amy Bee. Bezos and friends haven’t really built anything, and they’re using technology funded by taxpayers and launch sites funded by taxpayers. I refuse to laud these earth-wrecking fools. (And, no, I don’t shop at Amazon unless I absolutely have to. Amazon has so altered the retail ecosystem that all of my local stores have rejiggered a few of my favorite items right off the shelves.)

  16. Amelia says:

    Wasn’t this the same “smarty pants” who had an empty plane flown to make himself look good and show up his brother?

  17. Esmerelda says:

    Ok, I think he’s sincere in his preoccupation with climate change, but he’s part of the same “Panama/Pandora papers” tax dodging system which enables these people to become billionaires in the first place.
    The solution is not better charitable focus from billionaires, IMHO, but more equitable taxes, a redistribution of resources to enable governments and communities to tackle climate change and an end to the exploitation of workers and natural resources.
    Charitable, paternalistic capitalism is not the answer, IMHO.

  18. Scorpion says:

    Willileaks can sit the F down as far as I am concerned. I don’t like Musk, Bezos, Branson and Co but they earned their money and have the right to do whatever they want to do with. If I were them, I wouldn’t listen to some dilettante with geography degree, who’s biggest achievement is the fact that he came out of the right womb first.

    Go and open a town hall, or better yet retrain as a HGV driver and I will give you time of day.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      Thank you.

    • Cessily says:

      Bezos even helped fund his ES prize contest

    • Nina says:

      They earned their money thanks to the system that overwhelmingly favours certain type of people. They didn’t do anything extraordinary, they just hacked a really faulty system

      • BABSORIG says:

        @Nina, please tell us how William and the BRF earned their wealth…..I have all day

      • RoyalBlue says:

        Exactly Babs. Because regardless of whether you think the billionaires were wrong or right, my point is WIlileaks is NOT the person to deliver this message. punto finale. He is a bully, trying to build a legacy created by his handlers, in a cause he personally does not believe in, and from his behavior we know he is not a nice guy and should not lead this charge. And because he doesn’t deserve to lead this he will get slammed for it.

        each. and. every. time.

  19. Jan says:

    The owner of Amazon gave Earth Shot 4. ? Million, guess it was not enough for Cain.

    • Harper says:

      William famously doesn’t read his briefs. I wonder if he even knew that Bezos was a donor? I find it incredible that he would single out for criticism a famous rich person who contributed financially to Egoshot. Or maybe Bezos declined the invitation to the gala and the Burger King is mad.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Harper omg you’re right. If I had to bet, I’d say he never read anything given to him and doesn’t even know Bezos was a donor. Very typical William gaffe.

  20. lanne says:

    The only thing good about the billionaire space race is that it hastens the day when heavy industry can take place off earth. We’re a long long way off from that, but it’s necessary to reach the stars and the settle the solar system, and a lot of the technologies created will benefit Earth. They should focus less on joyrides for rich folks and more on improving lift capacity with reusable rockets.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Lanne: Why don’t we just stop heavy industry why continue these bad practices in space?

      • lanne says:

        We need heavy industry. It would be better if it didn’t take place on earth. I know it feels blue sky and ridiculous, but people said that about going to the moon, and we went to the moon with less technological capability than we have in our pockets today. It may be the only way to save earth in the long term. I’m not saying that billionaire joyrides in space are a good thing. Far from it. But we’re on a time clock with our climate, and I think we should be working towards all options possible. But I’m speaking as a futurist—someone who believes our destiny as humans is among the stars—not in a woo woo way. I mean that our species needs to create civilizations beyond earth—literally. I’d rather we mine asteroids for rare earth minerals than build more mines on earth. I’d like to see heavy industry on the moon, with its lower gravity, so we can build space habitats. We may need to build solar collectors in space for power, or even place sun shades at our L-1 Lagrange point to cool the planet. We as humans are capable of big things. We went to the moon for no better reason than to beat the Soviets there. Maybe billionaires have a role to play in us building a sustainable future, and maybe that sustainable future is bigger in scope than we might initially realize. Yes, it’s the dreamer in me that’s talking, and yes I’ve gotten away from one dumb prince and his dumb comment. Maybe I’m the dumb one. But I don’t think so.

      • goofpuff says:

        Those rare minerals are becoming even more rare. The things that make your everyday technology work are becoming less available and are more abundant in space. If you stop this industry, you really put a stop to using current technology, all of it. – phones, fridges, computers, TV’s, etc.

    • Tessa says:

      That’s so far-fetched, I don’t know that it even qualifies as a good thing. If we don’t fix the climate fiasco on Earth, we won’t have the time to do all that, so this is not a counter argument to what William said at all.

    • goofpuff says:

      The space race funded massive technology development. Where do you think smart phones and laptop computers came from? The need to make things smaller and less weight. NASA funds so many technology R&D and allows the companies to profit from it. Most people don’t realize this.

  21. chai35 says:

    I’d prefer we tax the f* out of them, and use the money for good. Private philanthropy and billionaires picking an issue isn’t the answer.

  22. Bettyrose says:

    It’s infuriating when you think of what Bezos, Musk, and Branson could accomplish if they’ had human souls. I don’t have an issue with the space race so much because I do dream that we’ll have space tourism in my lifetime. I’ve dreamt this since childhood and I’m not letting go. But every single day Bezos and Musk have the power to change the lives of thousands of employees with better workplace conditions. And they don’t do it. To say nothing of what could be accomplished globally with their combined resources.

    • GraceB says:

      I completely agree with you, but I don’t know what anyone could be at the top of the rich list if they had any real compassion and soul. Just the very fact that they are able to hoard that much wealth speaks volumes, so of course they’re going to spend it on larger than life vanity projects. Money goes hand in hand with greed and corruption.

    • Betsy says:

      Thank you.

      Although I do take issue with the space race because it really seems to me like the billionaires are developing an escape plan for after they’ve rendered the planet uninhabitable, not for anything beneficial.

    • Jan90067 says:

      Exactly! Right now, Amazon is running a commercial about how *great* they are, paying “at least” $15/hr, giving benefits, paid leave, etc…and then at the bottom, in SMALL letters it says “for FULL TIME employees”. THIS is how they get around giving workers a living wage, making them “part time”, giving weekly hours JUST UNDER what is needed for FT work. It’s ALL bullshit.

      • bettyrose says:

        OMG, that add makes me ragey. The man who dreams of studying nursing? He’s like “Amazon helped me so much and now I’m a lab tech studying to be a nurse.” So, basically, Amazon did NOT pay for him to attend nursing school. They maybe paid for a certificate program to transition into being a lab tech, but notice it doesn’t even say that much. GAH! (And where are all the warehouse employees who’ve managed to climb the corporate ladder thanks to Amazon’s commitment to training and promoting from within? They can’t find a single example of that to run a PR ad?)

  23. Digital Unicorn says:

    Someone is jelly they are not getting a space flight!!!

    I fully expect Harry to go into space on one of these rockets.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Digital Unicorn: I expect Harry to disappoint me one day but I hope Harry never does space travel. It would go against the values he professes to hold. Space tourism is a manifestation of rampant capitalism.

  24. corralee says:

    That one quote is correct, but you won’t see weird British people screeching at him for “lecturing” will you?

  25. Harper says:

    William the Incandescent is only using Earthshot to prop up his own sorry self. Remember, the original press release describing Earthshot was all about declaring the prize to be prestigious, hosting an annual gala with celebrities to award prizes, and making the winners famous. He has glommed onto this cause to fill a giant hole in his almost forty-year old life resume. Meanwhile, he helicopters everywhere.

    The Earthshot awards thingy is Sunday night; I predict by Tuesday the Burger King will be deciding whether or not he got enough publicity from it to continue on or to just drop it.

  26. mariahlee says:

    Mte. He’s right, but his motives for sharing these opinions now are obvious. Desperate times tho…

    • Christine says:

      I would happily be high fiving pretty much anyone else, but coming from a member of the royal family who still lives on Salty Isle? No. Now I’m defending billionaires, I need to go take a walk.

    • Truthiness says:

      Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Will is going to have go a lot farther to compete with his brother but getting the focus of billionaires onto the earth is a decent goal. China may not comply until forced to but it’s no reason to give up working on this goal.

    • PrincessK says:

      Oh dear, William is really out of his depth. Who told him to say that? His heart is clearly not in this but there is nothing else he can do. He said he wanted to do highlight things different from his father but is clearly just following his father who is so much better than him at this type of thing.

      He used the same lines his father uses…”Well if I can use the profile that I have in some small way to make a difference”….and when he said it he looked downwards and tried to put on a humble face. I think William finds it all very boring.

  27. Agreatreckoning says:

    It’s curious William is talking about what the wealthy should be doing with their money when what the BRF does with their $$$$$$$$$ seems a bit secretive while being tax payer funded.

    I wonder if William approached the space race guys to be sponsors of Earthshot and they told him no. Branson being the father-in-law to Will’s old love Isabella is an interesting twist to me. Isn’t Charles’ streaming deal with Amazon?

  28. tempest prognosticator says:

    I agree with him.

  29. ML says:

    In my humble opinion, Prince William is not and has not been a stellar role model for climate preservation up to now, and that’s putting it lightly. Maybe (and I mean maybe) this will change, however, on the issue of space exploration and travel he is right. It’s a money, time, and resources suck from far more pressing issues that need (billionaires’) attention.

  30. Noki says:

    He didnt say they shouldnt explore space,he is talking about the self indulgent space tourism.

  31. swirlmamad says:

    Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

    And this line — “We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action,” William said.

    LMAO…you’re right about that too, only your brother and SIL seem to be the ones who have the “action” covered.

  32. Cathy says:

    Hypocrisy today on these comments is very eye opening. I disagree with blaming billionaires. Musk partners with NASA to explore the space and he is the Brain behind space x. NASA space exploration is very expensive that’s why they need musk company. Musk is not wasting his money like benzos or Brendan for space tour. Musk vision is for sending people to mars. William is hypocrite first give your helicopter and private jet then we have talk.

    Many people here blaming on china , you should look yourself in mirror and ask how you are responsible for cheap labor. All major companies use chinese slave labor for their benefit. Your iPhone and cheap fashion is responsible for pollution.

    Very important your european ancestors are reason for whole in ozone layer. The european countries are first one for industrialization and pollute the earth. I doesnt matter who poke the hole last but it does matter who poke it first.

    China is developing country , so does india and other asian countries. Many people dont have access to basic things. Also all major waste from western countries are dumped in Asian countries for relax eco law.

    Give up your iPhone, fast fashion , computer and coal then lecture other developing countries how they are bad.

    • JMoreno says:

      @Cathy: China isn’t a developing country. China is currently the USA biggest competition across so many different areas including technology (which they love to steal).
      European ancestors responsible for whole in the ozone….really??? Seriously who is dumping waste in Asian countries…where are you getting your information???

      • Amy Bee says:

        @Jmoreno: Cathy is right China is still classified as a developing country. It is why it is resistant to the bullying of the West on this issue.

      • Cathy says:

        Other than european no other country is industrialized during 20 th century. Most asian , african and Latin america are poor country. Canada is dumping its https://youtu.be/-htnUTN4mH0 who parade themselves are climate change warriors.

        Your European ancestors goes on world tour for enslaving people and most country got it freedom during and after world war 2. In that time most western countries developed well and polluted earth with world war.

        You european and western world still bombing middle east is one of main cause of world pollution.

        According to world standard china is still developing countries because they dont have insfrasture in their rural area.

        As china being competition to usa is because you guys elect dumb politician who help china .

        As a developed country you should take responsibility first and blame others.

    • Nina says:

      Cathy so well said. It’s so easy to lecture from a position of a person in a developed country

      • Kviby says:

        I mean you can agree with Cathy and they bring up some great topics to discuss but it was definitely not “well said” lol

    • Kviby says:

      Cathy it is China that needs to stop with the coal. They are still increasing the coal use rapidly while all developed nations are quickly reducing it. I appreciate that you brought up the “developing nation” status China has, this gives it subsidies on shipping from the WTO meaning it’s cheaper to ship something from China than Mail it 1 block away if you live in the west. Which is why a lot of uncaring, apathetic, self serving and/or ignorant western people have made Ali and wish and shein so successful, I can’t imagine it is good for the planet to ship things from so far, though. You’re right that we have all us manufacturer who partner with China to blame. But we can’t expect people to blame them and talk with their wallets until they actually know about the China problem. So thanks for mentioning that but it’s not helpful that you are trying to shut down any criticism of china! Also, when the hole in the ozone was made, people were honestly ignorant. If you blame only western people please note that the same group of people were killing themselves with tobacco until about 30 years ago, also out of ignorance. Now there is no excuse, maybe you should reword what you’re trying to say because it really looks like you’re saying it’s cool if China ends earth because the UK started the industrial revolution.

      • goofpuff says:

        What she is saying is that blaming China without really looking at the western countries who truly are to blame is kind of hypocritical. its a much easier to blame another country (who has alot of major issues definitely) than to look at your own country and how it has grossly polluted and taken advantage.

        The developing countries are going through their industrial revolution the same way the western countries did. Telling them they can’t do it so they can catch up is pretty straight wrong.

        Maybe those rich countries should start sharing technology and resources so the developing countries can skip the industrial revolution part.

  33. Sofia says:

    Can’t believe I’m typing this but I do agree with him. The billionaires could spend their money trying to implement climate change solutions instead of space travel (which as people have said above, I don’t think they’re sharing their findings with the public anyway so the whole point of “they’re going for exploration isn’t even true”)

    As for the “will these comments bite him in the a**”? Eh. Branson may care because he’s British, Musk may give a comment because he’s a wannabe edgelord but I doubt Bezos will care all that much in public. He may be throwing a hissy fit in public for all I know.

    • goofpuff says:

      The technology the computer and phone you’re using was pioneered for the Space Shuttle through NASA grants to make smaller electronics. The companies then used it the technology to fund their business and sell it. NASA sees none of those profits.

      Why do you think they do this? They know they can use NASA for R&D and make bank off of the expertise they can use from there. There is so much R&D happening on the ISS many people don’t know about because NDAs.

  34. MMadison says:

    My apology to anyone that I offended. My point here is simply that William’s views on climate and space exploration is so juvenile. Science doesn’t work that way. We don’t deny the exploration of one area of Science to focus on just one area. It just doesn’t work like that. To top it off William telling anyone where to focus their time, money and resources is just a bit much. What has William ever DONE on his own without leading with his “birthright” and yet he is criticizing others. Give me a break

    • RoyalBlue says:

      I fully endorse all you have said.

    • Wenny says:

      So China is the worst polluter at 30%, but what percentage of that pollution is them making stuff for North American companies trying to save as much money as possible from getting it produced there instead of in their own country?

    • Couch potato says:

      @Wenny is on to on of the real problems when it comes to Chinas pollution. Everyone, not just North Ametican companies, are bying stuff from China because it’s cheaper. My scandinavian family has encountered two different problems within three weeks because import of parts from China has been stopped during the pandemic.

    • Lorelei says:

      @MMadison, you literally said, “Like William, we have quiet a few novice discussing a topic they should stay clear of and remain silent.”

      I mean, of freaking course — this is a website about celebrities, none of us here are astrophysicists. Are you? Because you’re certainly not “remaining silent.” Are you saying that no one here should comment on anything we don’t have personal experience with, or even so much as have an opinion on it?
      Give me a break.

    • katie says:

      I mean, if billionaires paid their fair share tax wise, NASA wouldn’t need these private partnerships. I would rather the gov receive those funds for exploration, than watch this weird dick measuring contest going on.

    • MMadison says:

      @Lorelei…yes, something like that

    • Lorelei says:

      @MMadison, then you’re in the wrong place; this is a comment section. Clearly you think you’re far more intelligent than anyone here, so maybe go find a different place to lecture and tease people by saying things like, “if only you knew, and if only I could say more.” You must be VERY important in the scientific community; we get it.

      But since you think that everyone here who doesn’t have personal experience with something should STFU, it’s strange that you’d choose to be discussing this on CB in the first place? Surely there are other places where you could interact with your intellectual peers!

      Since you comment on posts about the royals on here, I presume you yourself are royalty, posting from your palace. Because if you don’t have personal experience, you couldn’t possibly have an informed opinion 🙄

    • MMadison says:

      @Lorelei: You are so correct and I am so wrong.

    • Lorelei says:

      @MMadison, not sure if you’ll see this, but I came back to this thread because I wanted to apologize for being all snippy in my comments yesterday. I was having a “day” and ended up totally overreacting to your posts.

    • MMadison says:

      @Lorelei: No worries. I wrote my apology because I realized I had gotten on my soapbox about Science. Science is my life work’s and passion. I got carried away. Looking forward to reading your comments on other Royal topics. I personally enjoy when we actually have dialogues around different topics instead of just making comments.

    • luluminnie says:

      I am glad that Will is being an activist. If anything, he should be joining with environmental organizations. He is right, we are stealing the future of our children. Yes, it’s easy to hate on him bc he comes from a wealthy family, but he is right about what he is saying. Science is one thing, but prioritizing Climate Change IS something that must be done. Public resources are not limitless, so at some point we have to choose where to put our focus. There is much more he could also be saying, limiting single use plastic, etc. Oil corporations plan to produce more plastic in the next ten years than anytime. We may be at peak oil, but that is NOT stopping the corporations from completely going crazy making plastic. Yes, our overconsumption as Americans is part of the problem. The blame game isn’t going to solve the problem. How can we as humanity really make the changes that need to be made? Yes, would be nice if he put money towards that. Would be nice if he worked with making the RF zero-waste, and plastic free, and maybe got into composting, and so on and so forth. Yes, to all of this. Any action taken should be applauded. I mean I can understand the critiques. But do we want his efforts to fail? If so, we’re all in trouble on this planet.

  35. Shawna says:

    PWT strikes a rare good note! Though the issue of private space tourism seems niche, and a relatively safe thing to criticize, stopping these loonies and trying to refocus their attention and money could really help. But alas, he doesn’t have the clout to make an impact on those three man-children.

    Edit to add: I agree with everyone saying he’s being massively hypocritical, but not everyone will dig that deep into PWT’s own behavior. They might simply get the good message!

  36. Jess says:

    I actually agree, I think space exploration is wonderful and fascinating and important and I’m a total space nerd, but the reality is we live here. This planet is made for us, yes it would be great to be able to live on Mars but it’s not built specifically for humans, we need to take better care of Earth and figure out solutions to preserve it. We’re rapidly pulling out resources that keep a delicate balance then spewing toxins into an atmosphere that can’t keep up purifying it, we can do so much better, but money is involved so it doesn’t matter to those people who profit from it.

    It’s really a strange concept to me when I think about it too much, owning land and parts of the earth, it’s a space rock that belongs to all of us, lol.

  37. Mslove says:

    All the billionaires, the BRF, say stuff like this, because it’s what we think and what we want to hear. The only difference is the rules do not apply to them like they apply to us. They’re not actually going to reduce their own carbon footprint, good god, that is for the pheasants to do. Let me repeat, the same rule that apply to us do not apply to them. We should not praise William for saying words even tho we agree with what he says.

    • Lat says:

      Wills had the good example of his mother taking action by hugging people with aids and walking on an actual field with land mines, so why is he so lazy?

      • Sid says:

        Years and years of sycophants telling him he is a future king, kissing his butt, and covering up his f*ckery. Combine that with what seems to be a natural inclination towards petulance and brattiness based on the childhood videos and stories we’ve seen and heard, and it’s a recipe for the disaster we see now.

  38. Over it says:

    I agree it was a d measuring contest between those guys, however at least unlike william the leach, they worked for their billions.

  39. ME says:

    What is the carbon footprint every time they shoot a rocket up there? It must be insane.

  40. MangoAngelesque says:

    Here’s the thing about billionaires, Wills, they’re *billionaires*. They can afford to pump loads of money into space exploration AND earth improvements.

    Honestly, it’s so tiresome when people play the whole “why are you spending your money THERE when you could be spending it HERE” game.

    Don’t get me wrong. Bezos and his ilk are ridiculous. But space exploration is important. It’s fundamental. It’s necessary. It doesn’t need to be penis-shaped, but the other points stand.

    Save the planet. Explore the stars.

    • Eurydice says:

      The things is, we’re talking about the battle of the billionaires here. Bezos, et al, have billions on one side, and Will comes from a billionaire family. The difference is that space exploration develops new technologies – taking a helicopter to your country estate just gets you from here to there.

  41. Kfg says:

    Well #abolishthemonarchy is trending along with #princewilliam. Lolol he says stuff and destroys his own positions. Love this

    • Sid says:

      The way this guy constantly commits “own goals” is honestly hysterical at this point. Many of us have been saying that Willileaks is the one who will bring the whole thing crashing down around everyone heads. And he keeps proving it.

    • L4frimaire says:

      A broken clock is right twice a day. I actually follow Elon Musk on Twitter ( I have a few supervillain’s I follow) and am liking all his SpaceX posts. I like space and space exploration, always have, always will.

  42. notasugarhere says:

    Says the future future billionaire who will have earned none of that private wealth himself, who is addicted to private jets, foreign holidays, and helo trips instead of 30 minute train trips. Whose own granny pressured government to remove the private estates from eco-laws.

  43. lucy2 says:

    Hey, he got one right!
    But of course won’t actually do anything in his own life to better the environment.

    • L4frimaire says:

      I hope he’s gotten three new enemies for life out of this. He isn’t even at intern level compared to these guys.

  44. Over it says:

    So I guess it’s safe to say that Willy won’t be giving any of the speeches at this summit, because cleaver words and speeches he is not.
    Also can someone please remind Willy the bald, that he has 3 children. Charlotte and Louis the forgotten ones will also be the ones inherently this world that he seems to think will only belong to George or should be perfectly sustained just for George.

  45. 2cents says:

    Again William is saying the “blindingly obvious”. Of course billionaires should pay their fair share to solve the climate problems like the rest of us.

    But why does he single out three billionaires while there are 2,755 billionaires in the world, including his grandmother, with a net worth of US$ 13,1 trillion. How destructive is the climate impact of the other billionaires
    and how could they contribute to the solution? He’s too lazy to investigate thoroughly and just throws cheap (Earth)shots for PR and attention.

    William’s trap is that he wants to divide and rule like an autocrat. Telling others it’s their fault but never his own. He never sees himself as part of the problem. Everything he states here can be directed to him and the royal family. It’s the hypocrisy that drips from William’s populism that puts me off supporting his stance, whether racism or climate change.

  46. Margaret says:

    My response to willie is you first. Lead by example on fixing earth first, donate helicopter, start using occupied flyby commercial flights a the time. I bet if he had been offered a seat on space flight he would have taken it.
    Pr at its best, from a family of billionaires.

  47. L4frimaire says:

    Look, lots of people have been criticizing this space tourism thing, way before Keenshot decided to get on it. Notice how the environment and climate are the only thing William and Charles are willing to be interviewed about. But sure, let this privileged guy who has never done anything for anyone other than himself, criticize these guys who have built theses projects from the ground up, two of them self made. Also all those satellites orbiting the Earth got up there some how. A lot of them are now launched by SpaceX. The best thing these billionaires can do is pay more taxes, stop hoarding wealth ( the BRF is the OG in that category), and pay their workers. However, what exactly has William innovated? He wants attention for his little prize, which by the way Bezos donated to, and seems a bit sour after William Shatner so eloquently described touching the edge of space. There is a lot of valid criticism regarding “ space tourism”, but I support the mission of NASA, and space exploration, and it does have a beneficial effect ,both scientifically and technologically, here on Earth . I can’t stand any of these guys, it is very ego driven, so let them fight it out. He like everyone else is entitled to his opinion but he lacks the range and nuance to come at this from a policy point of view and contributes nothing in the grand scheme of things.

  48. candy says:

    Since only the most powerful people will be able to afford it, maybe it will also spur them to act. Seeing the earth from above may help render its value to these egomaniacs. Mostly likely not, but at least it’s something. Personally, I only need to see a bunny cross the road to feel the value of this precious place. I hope we can save it.

  49. Nyro says:

    Not this little dilettante trying to school self-made men on what they should or should not be doing re: climate change. I’m no Elon or Bezos stan but give me a break. He clearly thinks the title “Duke” actually means something in 2021. 😂

    I hope none of them respond to him. Let him know just how much of a non-factor he is.

    • L4frimaire says:

      Agree. Seriously, he is a bit player.He named his prize Earthshot, inspired by Kennedy’s Moonshot, which championed space exploration. But going to space is bad now because Captain Kirk got a lot of positive press.

      • Nyro says:

        It just confirms that this project was put together for him by his team. I’m certain that his bombs ass has absolutely no idea where the inspiration for his little busy work project comes from. And that in itself is another thing that bugs. That whole KP crew clearly hates Americans yet they have to turn to the words and ideals of an American president because the British don’t do inspiration and innovation and they know it. And had Meghan ever referenced President Kennedy or any kind of markers of American greatness, they would have ripped her to shreds. It’s fine for American-hating William tho.

  50. Jay says:

    Agreed, Wills, but maybe you should say this to their billionaire faces the next time y’all meet up in Davos.

  51. tamsin says:

    I think William’s framing of climate change is a bit superficial, limited, and quite ignorant, in the true sense of the word. He seems to speak of climate change in the context of how it might affect his own, and specifically his heir’s lifestyle. So far, I have only heard him say that he specifically wants George’s generation to be able to enjoy the outdoors like he did and does. There a major effects of climate change that will affect the world beyond rising temperatures and sinking landmasses. I don’t think he has really educated himself on climate change itself and it’s effects.

    • Nyro says:

      He hasn’t read the books and talked to the experts and it shows. It’s all surface level and shallow. He’s like a beauty pageant contested hoping for “world peace”. This is not his passion. His team throws together the events for him, gives him an index card with a couple of banal talking points on them, he goes to said events and spouts said talking points, and then he goes home, never to think of Earthshot again until the next event six months later. He doesn’t care and he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And everyone can see it which is why no one cares about this project at all. His so-called stans aren’t even paying attention outside of using it to attack the Sussexes.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Nyro, same guy who loves to talk about how “passionate” he is about conservation but continues to go hunting every chance he gets.

      • Ginger says:

        Agree. It’s all surface level for him. If he was REALLY passionate about it ( no helicopters, no SUV’s, no hunting to name a few) I would agree with him on this but he isn’t passionate. It’s busy work for him. If he was really bothered by the billionaires going to space he wouldn’t have taken the 4.5 million donation to EarthShot. I think that if he was asked to go to space by Jeff Bezos he would jump at the chance. I can’t buy anything he is saying regarding climate change. I just can’t. And I am not the only one. William is getting dragged on twitter. Big time.

    • Gina says:

      Exactly!

  52. Gina says:

    Nothing original here. Willy is copycat. This debate – Earth or Space and where these billionaires have to spend their millions started a few months ago, with the first flight. General public feelings are ambivalent, mostly because these wealthy people give money to preservational projects too.
    When this all started, I felt that in current sircumstances these space voyages are tone-deaf, showing in what bubble these wealthy people live. On the other hand, it’s their money. And investing in Space is important too. As usual, it’s not black and white.
    Willy suddenly decided to support populist approach. Why? To compete with Charles? To show how he cares? LOL. One more possible reason: to create some buzz around Keenshot.
    Anyway, he isn’t smart and eloquent enough to talk about this situation with balanced approach.

  53. Silent Star says:

    Slightly tangential to this story, but one day I would love to hear any senior member of the royal family come out and say “I’m passionate about this because I acknowledge the impact of colonialism and the role my family and the rulers before us had in the quest for wealth and power, and how that has impacted our world’s climate, natural habitats, resources, and people — and now I would like to do my part in putting things right.”

    Until I hear something along those lines, I will have a hard time taking their environmental efforts seriously.

  54. Catherine says:

    I think the space race competition is self indulgent but those billionaires are actually wealthy enough to be self indulgent and be charitable which Bezos and Branson are. I don’t know about Musk. Bezos is funding 10 billion dollar foundation dedicated to climate charge. BTW. William’s Earthshot prize received nearly 5 million from the foundation. Also. William claimed to model Earthshot after Kennedy’s Moonshot. Some could argue that pushing technological boundaries could prove beneficial in unforeseen ways. If I thought William was sincere in his criticism I would applaud it but I don’t. This is reflective of a pattern where they try of find something he can look bold on. Like when he decided to condemn racism in football. He creeps in on topic that he thinks will make him look thoughtful.

    • L4frimaire says:

      Exactly this. This guy has never earned one red cent on his own, never innovated or created anything, and has such one dimensional takes on everything.

    • Sid says:

      This is a great comment. And yes, wow, the irony of William talking about the space billionaires when he patterned “his” project after the race to get to the moon, which I would imagine some considered a waste back then. I’m not defending Bezos and Co. because they are gross for a myriad of reasons, but it really underscores William’s lack of smarts and inability to look at anything with nuance. But this is what happens when you rush into something to make yourself look better because you are being outclassed by your baby brother and sister-in-law.

    • Seaflower says:

      This is much better laid out than my comment further down. Well said.

  55. goofpuff says:

    If he really cared about this topic, he would put his own money where his mouth is. I don’t see him putting his own money into anything other than himself. So he can get off his high horse about other rich people.

  56. Seaflower says:

    While I agree with the sentiment (and I’d rather those Billionaires paid proper tax that spending their money on something that will make them richer), William’s timing (hypocritical after accepting a significant donation from Bezos for Earthshot), is directly aimed not just at drumming up publicity for ES, but also because he has one of his first big boy outings coming up in a few weeks with the UN Climate Change COP26 in Glasgow in Nov with a huge contingent of world leaders and important delegates attending. He’s attempting to look serious on a serious topic, but he phones it in once again with no real pre work leading up to this to establish his credentials. At least Charles for all he flies private jets and helicopters,, has been working on environmental causes since the 1970’s.

  57. sunny says:

    True but the point he is making is right. So right thing for the wrong reason. Happy that this message might be getting to an audience who are less likely to agree with it (Keen stans)

    Plus, even broken clocks are occasionally right.

  58. Lala44 says:

    Prince William is the wrong messager for this topic. The man is a hypocrite himself when comes to environmental issues. That Earthshot prize he supposedly developed, is similar to the “Earth Fund” established by Jeff Bezos.

  59. Mrs.Krabapple says:

    The biggest CO2 polluters per capita:

    1. Qatar
    2. Montenegro
    3. Kuwait
    4. Trinidad and Tobago
    5. UAE
    6. Oman
    7. Canada
    8. Brunei
    9. Luxumbourg
    10. Bahrain
    11. Australia
    12. Estonia
    13. Gibralter
    14. Falkland Islands
    15. Saudi Arabia
    16. United States
    17. Turkmenistan
    18. Kazakhstan
    19. South Korea
    20. Iceland

    And of course, we shouldn’t leave out the issue of how much of this being produced by foreign nations, is being produced in order to supply the USA and other western nations?

    • waitwhat says:

      Rather surprised not to see China on this list? Is it because that data is unavailable, or because China is not among the top 20 polluters? I’d be shocked if it were the latter.

    • Sid says:

      waitwhat, I “think” China is not top 20 maybe because this is measured per capita. They have a population of over a billion with many still living a rural lifestyle despite all the development, so even with a high level of pullution and emissions it will look smaller if measured per capita since it’s spread across so many people. I’m no statistician at all though, so I could be totally wrong on that.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      This is per capita. China is the largest total contributor (with the USA as #2), but because of China’s large population (18% of the world’s population), they are not in the top 20 per capita (and the USA drops to #16). The list is here: https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-by-country/

  60. Allie says:

    If only he would give back Bezos the millions donated to his prestigious prize.

  61. Nic919 says:

    This is similar to when he was telling people in Africa to have fewer kids. It’s hypocritical and he’s not the one to say this.

    There is an interesting video from the Rick and Bubba morning show and they are none too impressed with his comments. One of them called him an expensive mascot. Which is what he is.

  62. Keri says:

    “Billionaires should focus on earth’s problems.”

    Bulliam might want to talk to billionaire grandma, petty Betty, whose Balmoral estate is exempt from following environmental mandates that everyone else has to follow. Aren’t the Royals and the peerage all exempt from everything at this point?

    And how about millionaires, such as yourself, Baldemort? How about doing what you preach? Land rovers and frequent local helicopter trips anyone? He’s about as credible as his keen, useless wife.

  63. Bonsai Mountain says:

    But Earth’s problems are caused primarily by his family? The greatest historic emitters besides the US were Germany, Belgium and France, the former empires, with the UK sitting at number one. If he wants billionaires to change, lead by example. Reduce your huge carbon footprint, and get the others to follow. Stop preaching to people. So tiresome.

  64. Holland S says:

    I don’t like William, but he’s right here. I don’t know why we are going to screw up other worlds when we have so many political and social problems here. We deserve to die on earth frankly.

  65. Catherine says:

    I don’t like Bezos, at all, but this privileged twit, who never earned an honest dollar in his life, with no discernible charitable donation, sitting on piles of inherited wealth, presuming to sit in judgment of a self made man who worked hard to build a fortune primarily to achieve space travel, space having been his lifelong passion from childhood, makes me sick. Just despicable, a desperate attempt to attract attention to himself, and an insult to Americans who were enjoying the situation of a beloved popular figure in space, Shatner.

    • Tessa says:

      Shatner was so happy with that trip. Shatner worked and earned his own money, unlike William who by being born first has a life of privilege, money and lots of perks. It was not nice for William to behave that way and made those comments. Probably Shatner ignored him in any case.

    • luluminnie says:

      The space tourism stuff is tone-deaf. We have fires all over CA (fire season starting earlier and going later), a drought; much of our beloved Sequoia forest and trees have been burned down; you have record temperatures across the planet, stronger storms like the one that just hit New Orleans…. floods in Tennessee, way stronger hurricanes and so on and so forth. When waters rise, you’ll have 15 million Bangaladeshi people seeking shelter as refugees (larger population that entire LA region). Many people were completely turned off by the space tourism even if you did “pay your own ticket”. It’s ridiculous. That said, we can ALL do more. William, enough talk, show us some action. I think bringing attention to these issues is a first step. I doubt the US media will talk about it bc our media is corporate controlled. They don’t want us to stop our consumption and want we the people to keep shopping like sheep.

    • luluminnie says:

      The planet and our governments need to prepare for waters rising, etc. And we need to build up our wetlands and marshes, and stop using single use plastic, demand from corporations that we no longer want single use plastic. We should be planting edible gardens, and native plants, and maybe even growing our own food. We can all DO something (carpool, etc., etc.). Cut down on our meat eating. Clean our watersheds, eat less fish (bad for ocean), so much we can do. I personally am glad he is connecting with the youth and would only say: DO MORE.

  66. Tessa says:

    The trouble with it is William just talks and does nothing. I doubt he will give up his copters and using private jets. He even goes on hunting trips on estates to shoot animals for sport. I don’t see him as a role model. I also don’t like it when he brings George (or all his children sometimes) into it. I find it very affected behavior. William being preachy really is annoying to me anyway.

  67. Tessa says:

    William had money the day he was born, and because he was born first he is set for life in riches and privileges. Shatner and Bezos worked for their money. I don’t think it “bad” that Shatner went up in space, I am glad he was able to. And William should stop being so judgmental.

  68. Tessa says:

    William who wants to “protect the environment” for “future generations” goes in for shooting animals for sport. Even going on hunting parties on private jets (on estates) for shooting parties. There is also a photo of Philip ca. 1950s o a hunting party where they apparently shot Tigers who now are endangered. I think it a joke that Will has the nerve to be so preachy. He is even taking Little George with him on hunting trips.

  69. Izzy says:

    It’s their money, and first can he knock it off with the private copter rides? Something something glass houses…

  70. Likeyoucare says:

    His grandma is a billionaire and still receive money from taxpayer.
    Preach to your grandma to feed the hungry children in the uk 1st willie.

  71. Chaz says:

    How rich if Bezo took back the donation to earth shot and used it for a more appreciative worthy project. Maybe Burger King should do his homework and not bite the hand that helps your sad little” look at me” project. Respect the real work of self made billionaires and get a real job sans taxpayer funds.

  72. Monica says:

    Bill and the rest can thank M&H for dragging them halfway to relevance. He would not be talking about this without the need to try and compete with his brother.

  73. blunt talker says:

    I saw a reporter ask Prince Charles how will he and the other royals sustain their palaces to help the environment-Silly answer he gave-I don’t think he has a clue of how to do it or wants to.

  74. kelleybelle says:

    Yes, the blatant bloody hypocrite. They had a tall hedge built around their property to conceal the helicopter use! Ugh.

  75. L4frimaire says:

    All these people acting so surprised that they’re agreeing with him is like agreeing that water is wet. He just co-opted what’s being said about this in the news cycle with low hanging fruit for his own publicity. It’s not a sign that his lazy ass is suddenly intelligent or has some great insight.

  76. JillyBean says:

    Omg people who live in glass castles shouldn’t throw stones

  77. Tessa says:

    JFK talked about getting a “man on the moon” by the seventies. And his wishes before his death came true. There was no royal person trashing him for doing so. There was a space race. And who is Will to complain about a man who earned his own money and at age 90, getting to go up in space?