Andrew Cuomo is leaning on tech billionaires to help New York rebuild

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is leaning on tech billionaires to rebuild New York after the coronavirus — a reminder of how the mega-rich are consolidating their power and expanding their influence even as they offer to help respond to the pandemic.

Cuomo has tapped Bill Gates’s foundation and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to “reimagine” New York’s economy, health care system, and school system, the governor said in back-to-back briefings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been chosen to “revolutionize” online learning for the fall and was asked by Cuomo on Tuesday to develop a “blueprint” for how to do so.