Larry Page's will may eventually go Elon Musk's way. The Google co-founder and chief executive is considering leaving his money to the Tesla and SpaceX boss. There's no reason to believe Page will die soon, and Musk hardly needs the cash. But the electric car entrepreneur and his companies pursue green power, space colonization and other projects that Page cares about. It's a reminder that doing well can be one path to doing good.
Page has said he would get more benefit from putting his bucks in a money-making enterprise than in a non-profit. He has a point. China's switch to a market economy was far more effective than any charity could be in helping alleviate poverty. The number of Chinese living on less than $1.25 per day has fallen by about 700 million over the past 30 years, according to the World Bank.
The profit motive can't solve all ills, of course. Markets don't work well when permeated by corruption. And externalities can seem insurmountable, as Beijing's polluted air suggests. The benefits of education, the arts and even basic research can be tough to measure in dollars and cents, at least in the near term.
When it comes to efficiently developing technologies and scaling them up, however, well-run companies are unrivaled.
Musk has taken a limited amount of capital and with Tesla accomplished what appeared nearly impossible: making electric cars sexy and increasingly practical. SolarCity, a company he serves as chairman, figured out new ways to fund solar panels for homes. It now installs more than any other firm.
Musk can get plenty of capital on the cheap. A month ago, Tesla raised $2 billion to build the world's largest lithium ion battery plant. The entrepreneur probably doesn't need Page's billions.
Then again, the Google CEO is familiar with seed-financing. He and Musk are both fans of space colonization, a risky project with uncertain, yet potentially huge payoffs. At the very least, it's a valuable insurance policy for the human species. Page may think the best use of his cash is to pay the premiums on that coverage, and leave Musk to run the show.
