Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The foundation is perhaps the most well-known of a wave of 21st century charitable organizations funded by entrepreneurs that wanted to translate their business acumen into finding solutions to longstanding social problems. This approach, grounded in rigorous metrics and technology and a willingness to take risks, has won accolades and occasional criticism.

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates funded the foundation almost exclusively using holdings of the Microsoft Corporation, which Bill Gates co-founded in 1975. Initially established in 1994 as the William H. Gates Foundation with a gift of $106 million, in 1999, the organization consolidated with other charitable entities run by the couple and changed its name to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It has grown dramatically in the intervening decades, largely through gifts from the founders and a $31 billion donation from investor and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett. The foundation is committed to spending all its assets within 20 years of the death of its founders.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a leader among private foundations, demonstrating through its work how philanthropy can be strategic, impactful and collaborative. The foundation leverages its resources to partner with other donors, governments, private sector actors and civil society organizations to achieve greater collective outcomes. Moreover, the foundation is fueled by the generosity of its founders and trustees, who are actively giving during their lifetime and encouraging their peers to do so through the creation of the Giving Pledge. Its command of immense assets, and commitment to exploring new approaches to giving, have resulted in the foundation playing a unique role in the contemporary landscape of generosity.

Contributor: Maha Tazi