Bill Gates (Microsoft)
| Bill Gates | |
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| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates has engaged in various philanthropic efforts.
Biography
Bill Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955. He attended Harvard University, where he and his friend Paul Allen developed computer software, forming Microsoft. He served as president of the company until 2014, and stayed on the board of directors until 2020. In 1994, he and his wife, Melinda Gates, founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to focus on funding global health initiatives.[1]
Work and activities
Philanthropy
On his personal website, Gates wrote of his philanthropy:[2]
| “ | The goal of my philanthropy is to reduce inequity. Globally, the worst inequity is in health. More than 4 million children under the age of five die every year, nearly all of them in poor countries. Climate change is increasingly a source of inequity because extreme weather is hardest on the world’s poorest people. In the United States, the worst inequity is in education. So these are the primary issues where I fund research, policy work, and other activities.[3] | ” |
Politicial donations
In 2024, Gates donated $50 million to Future Forward, an organization that supported the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris (D). Gates did not expressly endorse any candidate, but said "I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world."[4]
Gates also donated money to specific ballot measures. In 2010, he donated $700,000 to the campaign against California's Proposition 23, which would have repealed the state's law requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.[5] In 2018, he donated $500,000 in support of Washington's Initiative 1631, which would establish a fee for metric tons of carbon emitted.[6]
See also
External links
- Bill Gates' personal website
- Bill Gates on Facebook
- Bill Gates on Instagram
- Bill Gates on LinkedIn
- Bill Gates on X
Footnotes
- ↑ Encyclopedia Brittanica, "Bill Gates," accessed December 2, 2025
- ↑ Gates Notes, "My philanthropy," accessed December 2, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bill Gates Privately Says He Has Backed Harris With $50 Million Donation," October 22, 2024
- ↑ CBS News, "Bill Gates Gives $700,000 To Defeat Proposition 23," October 20, 2010
- ↑ FOX 13, "Bill, Melinda Gates give $1 million to Washington's carbon measure," October 16, 2018
