"Not a Mars person, rather spend money on vaccines" Bill Gates

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he is not a Mars person and he would rather spend the money on vaccines. Asked why he is not venturing into space projects like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Gates said that he is more concerned with problems closer to home.

"No, I'm not a Mars person. I know a lot of Mars people. But, you know, I'm not subject to that. So, you know, I don't think the rockets are the solution. But maybe I'm missing something there," he said during an appearance on Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast.

Gates who appeared on the podcast to promote his new book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster said he is not keen to buy a space visit ticket either. "I am not going to pay a lot of money because my foundation can buy measles vaccines and save a life for $1,000," he said, adding "So anything I do, I always think, OK, I could spend that $1,000 buying measles vaccine."

Gates stepped down as CEO in 2000 and with his wife launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is devoted to improving global health.

He said, "It is important to say that what Elon did with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone has ever made. And underestimating Elon is not a good idea."

Elaborating on his decision to found nuclear power startup, TerraPower, Gates said, "The only reason I got involved in nuclear is because of climate."