He saved an estimated ONE BILLION people. That really puts things in perspective.
First when you have a chain of necessary companents: (Scientific Invention > development of agricultural techniques > NGO Deploying of techniques > Rich guy funding the deployment > ex politician who convinced the rich guy) , each one can claim full credit for the process.
Then you have to guess what would have happened if this guy didn't do it? Would Mexicans still be farming like 1824?
Certainly there would be many more farmers (less efficient) without this gent's green revolution advancements and the food would be more expensive, but it's baseless to assert everyone would have starved otherwise.