Bill Gates donates $28b to his foundation as it ramps up giving
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Billionaire Bill Gates says he hopes to ease people’s suffering by giving more.
PHOTO: AFP
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SAN FRANCISCO (BLOOMBERG) - Billionaire tech pioneer Bill Gates is donating US$20 billion (S$28 billion) to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this month, as the philanthropic behemoth plans to speed up its pace of giving.
"I hope by giving more, we can mitigate some of the suffering people are facing right now and help fulfil the foundation's vision to give every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life," Mr Gates, the world's fourth-richest person, said in a statement on Wednesday (July 13).
The foundation's new goal of distributing US$9 billion annually, which it aims to accomplish by 2026, is a 50 per cent increase from its current rate.
Mr Gates' latest infusion of cash brings the foundation's total endowment to about US$70 billion, according to the statement.
Following their tumultuous divorce last year, the foundation's namesake billionaires jointly committed US$15 billion to the Seattle-based organisation, which Mr Gates' most recent contribution would fully cover.
"Since then, both co-chairs have made significant contributions toward the pledge," Ms Kate Davidson, a Gates Foundation spokesman, said in an e-mail, without specifying a dollar amount.
As part of last year's announcement, the pair also said that Ms Melinda Gates might step down from her roles as co-chair and trustee if the two are unable to work together.
If she departs, Ms Gates, 57, will receive money from Mr Gates for her charitable work that's separate from the foundation's endowment.
Mr Gates, 66, has already transferred billions of dollars of stock in companies to Ms Gates, who's built her own philanthropic investment firm Pivotal Ventures.
Ms Davidson said there are no plans yet for Ms Gates to step aside.
"Bill and Melinda are fully committed to continuing to work constructively together at the foundation to advance its programme and policy objectives," she said.
Mr Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has a fortune of US$113.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Ms Gates is worth US$10.3 billion.
Following through on another post-divorce promise, the foundation this year expanded its board of trustees by four members, adding the organisation's chief executive officer, a Zimbabwean billionaire, a non-profit consultant and a baroness.
The board previously comprised a tiny circle of friends and family, including Mr Gates' father, who died in 2020, and Mr Warren Buffett, who has donated more than US$35 billion to the charity, including US$3.1 billion in June.
Mr Buffett, 91, stepped down soon after Mr Gates and Ms Gates split.
The Gates Foundation has long been a powerhouse in the non-profit world, employing almost 1,800 people and spending nearly US$80 billion since 2000. In 2019, it was overtaken by Fidelity Charitable, a donor-advised fund provider, as the country's largest grantmaker.
At that point, both made less than US$5 billion in gifts annually. Even if it hits its US$9 billion annual goal, the Gates Foundation may still trail Fidelity, which has benefitted from a recent rise in the use of donor-advised funds, or DAFs. In 2021, Fidelity dispersed more than US$10 billion in gifts.
