Wow.
As degrawj can probably tell you I'm a freaking huge U2 fan...I've read sooo much about the band and would eventually really like to compile a U2 reference guide. Thus I've read a lot about the band, watched a lot of their videos and read a lot of observations made by other people about the band.
Bill Flanagan is a journalist who traveled with U2 from the production of "Achtung Baby" in 1991 to the conclusion of the Zoomerang tour in Japan at the end of 1993. Over the course of those two years he made several observations about Bono that can be read in his book "U2 At The End of the World." You would think that as a journalist Flanagan would be looking to find some dirt--any dirt. But there really is very little to be found. The biographies I have read where "dirt" is to be found are overreaching and obviously written by people looking to make a quick buck by trading on U2's name.
That aside, Flanagan talks to several people about their perception of Bono--and it seems to me, based on reading these observations, that Bono is one of those people who just genuinely cares. The book is full of instances where Bono gives kids rides around Dublin because they came all the way from Germany or the United States to see where U2 was from and didn't know where they were going or what they were doing. Someone in the book says that Bono is so giving he often forgets himself--he so wants to be everything to everyone that he loses track of himself and the things he should be doing (he will tell you his wife keeps him very much in line).
As for his own money--having read what I've read I sincerely doubt he is overly concerned about it. U2's finances are largely managed by one man in their organization. Also, their drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., will tell you that they are a lot less rich than people seem to think they are--a lot of their money is tied up in their organization, Principle Management (an organization which supports hundreds of people during tour time).
As for Bono's "sudden" interest in humanitarian work...don't get me started. U2 has been writing songs with a political theme since the very beginning, and they're not the kind of people to stand idly by--Bono certainly isn't. He has been very outspoken since day one about various causes, and looking at their liner notes confirms this: nearly every album since War features addresses to join Amnesty International (among other organizations). Bono performed on the Band Aid charity single in 1983. The band performed at Live Aid. They have done fundraising for Amnesty International. In 1992 they staged a publicity stunt for the benefit of Greenpeace at the Sellafield Nuclear Plant in Great Britain. During their European tour for ZooTV they drew attention to the slaughter occuring in Sarajevo and Bosnia--they were largely responsible for getting the rest of the world to notice what was going on.
So you can see that DATA and Bono's efforts towards debt relief and AIDS in Africa are just one thing in a long, long line of previous humanitarian efforts. Heck, the song "One" raised millions of dollars as an AIDS charity single in 1991-92.
As for the argument that U2 are fervent capitalists and that Bono is as well--I disagree. In the 1980s, in order to save their record label at the time, they loaned several million dollars back to Island Records. They have never accepted corporate sponsorship for a tour. As for the iPod ads for Apple--no money changed hands.
So there you have it. Now I hope you can see why Bono is a worthy candidate to be on the Nobel Peace Prize shortlist. I should note that this isn't the first time--nor the second. I believe he's made the shortlist three or four times now.
I hope that all made sense.
If you have any questions about U2 or Bono, I'd be happy to answer them.