Gates is a well-known philanthropist.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Gates sometimes says he has no use for the money and often talks about his charitable giving and health care investments.
Created in 2003 with funding from Gates and his then-wife Melinda Amyrisis a synthetic biology company that initially produced precursors for malaria drugs and hydrocarbon biofuels, but has also used the technology in products such as perfume, skin care and sweeteners. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023.
In November 2017, Gates invested US$50 million Alzheimer’s disease research. In 2018, he and a group of investors invested another $30 million in Diagnostics Accelerator, a “venture philanthropy” fund for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Gates and his ex-wife have also pledged an estimated $2 billion to fight malaria, donated more than $50 million to fight Ebola, and pledged $38 million to a Japanese pharmaceutical company working on a low-cost polio vaccine. Dollar.
During the pandemic, their foundation announced a five-year, $1.6 billion commitment to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) to provide vaccines to the world’s poorest countries.
The Gates Foundation also funds education through a $1.6 billion program called the Gates Millennium Scholars Program.
The foundation said it has paid out $77.6 billion in grants from its inception through the fourth quarter of 2023.
Its 2024 budget is $8.6 billion, and the foundation is targeting an annual budget of $9 billion by 2026.