Bono
The social defender
You can’t read a story about environmentally and socially conscious celebs without seeing Bono’s name mentioned, although not very often his real one, which is Paul Hewson.
Lead singer of hugely successful Irish rock band U2, Bono spends much of his time promoting humanitarian issues and working to get Third World debt cancelled. And he seems to be so good at activism that other celebrities are lining up to join his causes. He co-founded the organization DATA in 2002 (for Debt, AIDS, Trade and Africa), which is a partner in the ONE campaign, fighting AIDS and poverty. Many notable celebrities have already signed up.
Bono reportedly became interested in social causes after seeing an Amnesty International benefit show, The Secret Policeman’s Ball. In the mid ’80s he joined fellow philanthropic musician Sting on Amnesty’s Conspiracy of Hope U.S. tour. U2 also performed for projects and events such as Band Aid and Live Aid, and Bono later teamed up with organizer Bob Geldof for Live 8.
His involvement has only increased this decade, including meetings with leaders such as U.S. President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Now, dubbed the face of fusion philanthropy by theNew York Times, Bono is working with companies such as GAP, American Express and Converse through RED. A percentage of the profits from a specialty line of products will go to fighting AIDS in Africa.
Bono and wife Ali also recently launched EDUN, a socially conscious clothing line that uses factories in Africa, South America and India, providing fair wages while practicing good business ethics. It’s meant to create a business model for others to invest in developing nations.
Bono was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2004 and tied as the 2005 Time Person of the Year with Bill and Melinda Gates, not to mention receiving three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. On the other hand, he’s also had more than his share of detractors. Points of contention for some are that he purchased a major share in capitalist magazine Forbes, his connection to violent video game Mercenaries 2 and the fact U2 moved part of their multi-million dollar business to Amsterdam to avoid paying taxes. More has been noted, such as his numerous possessions including several mansions, cars and a private jet.
In an interview with CNN, the perpetual sunglass-wearing star said his new thinking on philanthropy is about putting cynicism aside so that everyone wins (meaning making money doing it is OK). He admits some with bad intentions might join his projects, like RED, but he counters that as long as the people needing help are getting it, the campaign will have worked. We think people should cut him a little slack. Nobody’s perfect, undoubtedly not even those who criticize him, and definitely not us.
