Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-12-07)

BONG

JOON-

HO

FILMMAKER

○ AttheOscarsin February,

hismovieParasite, a dark

comedyexploringclass

differencesin Seoul,became

thefirstnon-Englishfilmto

winbestpicture,andBong

becamethefirstSouthKorean

towinbestdirector.

Parasitesmashedcommercialexpectations,

takingin almost$260millionin globalticket

salesagainstan$11millionbudget,andBong

usedthemovie’ssuccesstoremindmyopic

Americanaudiencesthatothercountries

producegreatcinema,too.InOctober2019,

hetoldNewYorkmagazinethattheOscars

were“nota bigdeal”and“verylocal,”and

inhisacceptancespeechforbestforeign-

languagefilmattheGoldenGlobesonJan.5,

hesaid,“Onceyouovercomethe1-inch-tall

barrierofsubtitles,youwillbeintroduced

tosomanymoreamazingfilms.”Bong’s

2003 crimemovie,MemoriesofMurder, was

rereleasedintheU.S.andU.K.thisfall,and

he’sadaptingthe 2014 filmSeaFog, which

heco-wroteandproduced,intoa newmovie

project.—KellyGilblom

STRIVE MASIYIWA

CHAIRMANANDFOUNDER,

ECONETWIRELESS

INTERNATIONALLTD.

JOHANNESBURG○

Hisfoundationpaid

$10millionin cashand

otherassistancetomore

than1,700health-care

workersin Zimbabweto

urgethemnottostrike

overerodingwages.

RunawayinflationinZimbabwehas

rendereditscurrencyalmostworth-

less.With$8billionin unpaiddebt,the

countrycanbarelyaffordservicesfor

itscitizens,andthedeteriorationis

epitomizedbythewoefulstateofthe

health-caresystem.Medicineshort-

agesandrecurringstrikesoverpay

andworkingconditionswerecom-

monevenbeforethecoronaviruspan-

demic.Masiyiwa,a billionairewho’s

originallyfromoutsideofZimbabwe’s

capital,Harare,paidmonthlystipends

fromZW$5,000toZW$10,000($62to

$124)tohealth-care workers to stay on

thejob.WhenCovid-19 hit, he offered

anadditionalZW$500 a day for any-

onehospitalized by the virus and

$ZW50,000for permanent disability

ordeath.Hisprogram ran through July,

andsinceitsexpiration some workers

havegoneback on strike.

Masiyiwa,whose telecommuni-

cationscompany operates in Africa,

Asia,Europe,and South America,

hashadhisrun-ins with Zimbabwe’s

government,which he sees as pur-

suingpoliciesdetrimental to his wire-

lessbusiness.More than 90% of the

country’scommerce is conducted via

mobile-moneytransactions because

ofcashshortages. The government

accusesEconet, which dominates

theindustry,of fueling black-market

currencytrading and money launder-

ing,accusations the company denies.

Masiyiwasees his donations as giv-

ingbacktohis home country, even

thoughhelives in self- imposed exile,

mostlyinJohannesburg and London.

—GodfreyMarawanyika

○ Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the IMF

has increased lending to member nations by 50%,

to $270 billion.

Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist with a doctorate from the country’s

Karl Marx Higher Institute of Economics (now the University of National

and World Economy), is the first IMF chief from an emerging market. Through grants, the fund has helped 29 of the poor-

est member nations cover their IMF loan payments, and Georgieva is raising money from rich nations for more relief. In

March she scored a victory when the U.S. Congress agreed to an expansion of the IMF’s lending capacity (though in

April, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin blocked her plan to bolster members’ access to currency reserves).

This year, Georgieva has hired two female department heads to replace men, raising the women’s share to 40%—

eight of 20. The IMF has also started a YouTube channel with videos on topics such as how to compile macroeconomic

statistics, improve central bank law, and use fintech to contribute to financial inclusion. —Peter Coy

KRISTALINA

GEORGIEVA

MANAGING DIRECTOR,

INTERNATIONAL

MONETARY FUND

BONG: JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. GEORGIEVA: CHESNOT/GETTY IMAGES. MASIYIWA: JUSTIN CHIN/BLOOMBERG

I

One of Bong’s favorite fi

lms is

Raging Bull

, directed by Martin

whom Bong beat out at the Oscars for best directorScorsese,