STOCKHOLM, February 11 (IPS) – While living and working in Paris, I joined Cercle Suedois, a social club founded in 1891, at a time when Sweden and Norway were united in one kingdom. At the time, Alfred Nobel was a frequent visitor, and in a corner I sometimes stood in front of the writing desk, where he wrote his famous will in November 1895, stipulating that 94% of his total fortune (equivalent to 120 million USD. in today’s money) was allocated to establish the five prizes. These awards will be presented annually to deserving individuals who “regardless of nationality” have contributed to “the advancement of humanity and the preservation of peace in the world.”
Laying on the desk was a copy of the will which was actually quite confusing. Alfred Nobel spent most of his time outside of Sweden, and even though he was a multilingual, with his fluency in French, Russian, English, German and Italian, his Swedish came after many years. Abroad has become calloused and the recipes he uses are sometimes a bit special.
Three first prizes will be awarded for “excellence” in the physical, medical – and chemical sciences, while fourth prizes will be awarded to authors of “literary work in an ideal direction”. During the century after the literary prize was established, the meaning of the word “ideal” was disputed. Can a “literary work” be “idealistic” in the sense that it promotes general peace and happiness? Or Alfred Nobel because “ideal” means “excellent”? Members of Royal Swedish Academythose tasked with awarding the prize are mostly inclined to the latter meaning.
The fifth prize provided for by Nobel’s will has been considered even more controversial and has been hotly debated for many years. Alfred Nobel stipulates that it will be awarded by Norwegian Nobel Committeewas established by five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and is endowed to those individuals or organizations that have “done the most or the best work for the brotherhood of nations, for the abolition or reduction of reduce the standing army as well as organize and promote peace congresses. ”
Criticism of Alfred Nobel has focused on his leading role in the global arms trade and production. Accordingly, it has been suggested that his main motive for creating the Nobel Prize was to improve an already tarnished reputation. In 1888, the death of his millionaire brother Ludvig, prompted several French newspapers to publish lengthy obituaries of Alfred Nobel. A newspaper read: “Dead merchant, Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Alfred became annoyed by this confusion with his brother, and he was particularly disturbed by accusations that he had benefited and became rich as a result of the misery caused to others.
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) was born in Sweden, but after several failed businesses, his father moved to Saint Petersburg, where he became rich as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives. and sophisticated weapons. In 1842, his family went with him to the Russian city. Since his factory produced weapons for the Crimean War (1853–1856), Immanuel Nobel’s fortune grew even more, but when hostilities ended, his company had difficulty converting returned to regular production and after a number of years he was forced to file for bankruptcy, leaving the Factory in Russia in the care of his eldest son, Ludvig. Immanuel Nobel has moved back to Sweden with his wife and other children. By investing in innovative and highly efficient weapons manufacturing and developing oil exploration around Baku, Ludvig recovered financially and secured rapidly growing wealth for his entire family. His very talented younger brother, Alfred, was therefore able to devote himself to science and beneficial discoveries. He invented dynamite, a safer and easier means of harnessing the explosive power of nitroglycerin, and it was soon used worldwide for mining and infrastructure development.
During his lifetime, Nobel granted 355 international patents, among them ballistite, a precursor to several modern smokeless powder explosives, which, among other uses, is now used as a rocket launcher. Besides his activities as a researcher and innovator, Nobel wrote poetry and tragedies in English and French and, like his brothers, was a skilled businessman, a successful businessman. established more than 90 weapons factories around the world – most notably the still-existing Swedish company. Boforswhich he developed from a producer of iron and steel to a manufacturer of cannons and other weapons.
Alfred Nobel traveled the world, maintaining lavish homes in France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. He enjoyed opera and theatre, had several love affairs and became friendly with literary giants such as Victor Hugo. However, he remains a single character, suffering from depression, unmarried and childless.
In 1876, Alfred Nobel published an advertisement in a Viennese newspaper, perhaps because he considered Germans in general to be industrious and well-educated, although he considered German-speaking Austrians more agreeable than the general public. German: “Request: Wealthy, well-educated elderly gentleman, living in Paris, seeking to contact a mature woman fluent in the language to apply for a job as a secretary of the household. . The young Austrian-Bohemian Countess Bertha Kinsky responded to the advertisement and was eventually hired as Alfred Nobel’s secretary. She soon left his job to marry her previous lover, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner, although this did not prevent Bertha from maintaining intensive contact with her former employer.
Bertha von Suttner became an ardent pacifist after experiencing a thirst for revenge from the fierce French following his crushing defeat to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. As part of the effort. spreading her message of peace and brotherhood, Bertha von Suttner wrote the novel Die Waffen Nieder – translated into English as “Lay Down Your Arms !: The Autobiography of Martha von Tilling”. It became a bestseller and was quickly translated into several other languages. Bertha von Suttner has lectured throughout Europe, engaging young audiences and supporting efforts to educate them about the terrible costs of war. It has been suggested that Bertha von Suttner evoked feelings of shame and guilt in Alfred Nobel, especially through her insistence that “great wealth accumulations should go back to communities and causes common goal and support the new enrichment of the world”.
While I was looking at Nobel’s writing desk at Cercle Suedoisremembering that at Bertha von Suttner’s insistence on leaving 94% of his fortune to what he believed to be for “the advancement of mankind and the preservation of peace in the world”, I could not avoid from thinking about a statement Bill Gates and Warren Buffett made in 2010, asking “the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving away the bulk of their fortunes in return”. Pledge to give So far, the site says, 210 mega-millionaires have agreed to accept Gates and Buffett’s call.
I doubt if this is really the case, assuming that many billionaires are giving to fake, or rather inefficient charities while continuing to accumulate wealth faster than they can give away. This does not mean that I doubt that Bill and Melinda Gates are doing very well, even though in 2010 Bill Gates’ net worth was $53 billion and is now over 134 billion, while his net worth is Warren Buffett’s net worth increased by $43 billion. . I can’t help but wonder what half of these colossal fortunes would achieve if dedicated to improving the happiness of the world’s population. Of course, some of the vast fortunes of Gates and Buffett must be devoted to their much-advertised “commitment”, but what about the other “super-millionaires”? I wonder – especially considering Trump’s fake charities and the blatant tax evasion and offshore accounts billionaires are opening in their attempt to stay tax-free.
It is far from any insignificant amount. World’s Billionaires is the annual ranking of the net worth of the richest billionaires and is compiled every March by the American business magazine. Forbes. In 2021, the list includes 2,755 billionaires with a combined net worth of $13.1 trillion, 86% of which have more wealth than they had a year earlier. To me these numbers are as incomprehensible as the vastness of the Universe.
Topping Forbes ‘ The 2022 preliminary list is Elon Musk with $256.1 billion, followed by Bernard Anault (with his family) with 195 billion, Jeff Bezos with 187.1 billion, Bill Gates with 134 billion, Larry Page with 119.7 billion and Warren Buffett with $116.5 billion.
Currently, individuals with a fortune of more than $1 million make up about 1% of the world’s population, while they control 46% of global wealth. This is puzzling, and given the very small impact of these billionaires’ philanthropy, I can’t help but think that there must be some truth to the famous French anarchist’s maxim. Pierre Joseph Prudhon that La proprieté, c’est le vol! Property is robbery! Alfred Nobel’s good intentions were full of guilt and the emerging benefits of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation can contribute to “the advancement of mankind and the preservation of peace in the world.” However, there must be something fundamentally wrong with the world order that facilitates such a staggering accumulation of private wealth. Hopefully, one day, some of the wealthy like Alfred Nobel will realize that their fortunes stem from the hard work of others and dedicate their fortunes to the public good.
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© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
