By Jackson West, 8:00 PM on Mon Apr 7 2008, 1,515 views (Edit, to draft, Top, Slurp)

Copy this whole post to another site

Slurp cancel

select site advertising consumerist deadspin defamer fleshbot gay fleshbot gawker gizmodo idolator io9 jalopnik jezebel kotaku lifehacker valleywag artists gawkershop

Rolling Stone's profile of Google.org director Larry Brilliant presents a man with an unimpeachable reputation in public health and a decidedly impeachable one in private business. Since Google.org is run more like a venture fund than a traditional philanthropic foundation, the company's supposedly humanitarian work is expected to serve pecuniary self-interest. The RE<C project to replace coal with renewable energy sources could certainly prove quite profitable. But Brilliant's expertise is in epidemiology, and as anyone in big pharma can tell you, there's very little money to be made in curing diseases, especially in the developing world. The piece does have an interesting sidenote — Steve Jobs ran into Brilliant on his way to meet guru Neem Karoli Baba. Which explains where Jobs learned what it takes to lead a cult. (Photo by Pierre Omidyar)