Bill Gates

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Microsoft, private investments

FUNDING AREAS: Global health and development, gender equity, U.S. education, advancing philanthropy

OVERVIEW: Bill is among the world's leading philanthropists. Together with his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, he co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 and has made philanthropy his full-time focus. In 2010, Gates, French Gates, and Warren Buffett started the Giving Pledge, a campaign that encourages the wealthiest people in the world to give at least half of their wealth to philanthropic causes. The Gates Foundation’s primary areas of focus are global health and development. Other interests include K-12 education in the U.S. and gender equity in pandemic recovery efforts. The couple divorced in 2021 but agreed to continue to run their foundation jointly for the near future.

BACKGROUND: Taking an early interest in the nascent world of personal computing, and showing an aptitude for software coding, Gates formed Microsoft when he was a sophomore in college, dropping out of Harvard to focus on building his new company. A partnership with IBM and the development of DOS set the stage for Microsoft to become the computer giant it is today and to make Gates one of the richest men in the world. After spending 25 years as the company's president and CEO, Gates eventually transitioned out of his role at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy, developing the largest philanthropic foundation in history. He stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 but remains a major shareholder in the company.

ISSUES:

GLOBAL HEALTH: Improving health outcomes in developing countries has been the top priority of Gates philanthropy from the start. The foundation's Global Health Division seeks "to harness advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries." Developing and delivering vaccinations and other life-saving interventions is a major focus. The foundation has given billions in funding to secure advances against HIV, malaria, polio and other diseases. Improving children's health and maternal well-being are also key goals of the foundation, along with expanding access to family planning services. Gates pledged up to $100 million in funding against the COVID-19 pandemic and announced a five-year $1.6 billion commitment to the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, which aims to provide routine vaccines to 300 million children in vulnerable communities around the world and to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. In June 2021, the foundation committed $2.1 billion to support gender equality in international pandemic recovery efforts, naming reproductive health care as an area of priority.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: In addition to its health-related programs, the Gates Foundation supports programs through its Global Development Division that aim "to identify and fund high-impact solutions that can help hundreds of millions of people lift themselves out of poverty and build better lives." Priorities include helping small farmers in developing countries to sustainably increase production and sell more crops, advancing financial inclusion, improving water and sanitation systems, providing emergency response to humanitarian disasters, and more.

U.S. EDUCATION: While the bulk of Gates philanthropy prioritizes global issues, the foundation is a major funder of work and education in the United States. The foundation says that its primary focus in this area "is on ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and have an opportunity to earn a post-secondary degree with labor-market value." To this end, the foundation has funded a wide array of K-12 initiatives around the United States, as well as extensive educational research. It describes itself as playing a "catalytic" role to advance innovation that might otherwise not occur. Bill Gates has talked often about the critical need for research and development on proven solutions to improve student outcomes, and has described the Gates Foundation's role in these terms. The Gates Foundation plays a major role in developing and implementing the Common Core State Standards.

WOMEN AND GIRLS: In 2021, the Gates Foundation committed $2.1 billion to promote gender equity in global pandemic recovery initiatives. The program’s priorities include reproductive healthcare, including expanding access to contraceptives, and job and leadership training for women and girls in developing countries.

Grants for Climate Change

Breakthrough Energy is a funding and investment platform created by Bill Gates to promote clean energy and help the world reach net-zero emissions.

ADVANCING PHILANTHROPY: Gates is one of the leading advocates of more philanthropic giving, especially by the world's wealthiest people. In addition to developing the Giving Pledge, the foundation is a major grantmaker to organizations that research or promote philanthropy. In July 2022, Gates gave $20 billion to the Gates foundation and announced plans to increase the foundation’s annual giving to $9 billion by 2026.

LOOKING FORWARD: After many years of philanthropy, Bill Gates remains one of the richest people in the world and even bigger things likely lie ahead for his giving. In accordance with his Giving Pledge letter, the vast bulk of Gates’ fortune is expected to be used for philanthropy. 

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