Am I the only one distressed by the amount of good that could have come from $60B over 5 years if applied to a social problem, but was instead squandered on nerd fantasies?
60B is half of what pharma companies allegedly sent back to their shareholders from insulin price hikes. There's better places to direct anger towards overspent money IMHO. At least some people are happy with their Quest 2/3.
> Novo Nordisk and Sanofi have seen huge gains as the list price of insulin has grown. The companies have collectively distributed a total of $122 billion to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and cash dividends over the period 2009-2018.
Don't be. That kind of money was never going to be earmarked for something in the public interest. Corporations get financing at 0% (or they did back then), so they can set it on fire in an effort to burnish their 'market making' credentials, while regular individuals and nonprofits pay 'market rates' for loans.
The only way it could happen is if Zuckerberg had a Bill Gates moment and decided to use his enormous personal wealth to at least try to do some good.
