Recent events
2024-06-15
Transactions
PRIMARY
Following Melinda French Gates's departure, the foundation announced it would add four new independent board members and renamed itself the Gates Foundation. Bill Gates remains the sole co-chair. The foundation…
2024-06-13
Other facts
PRIMARY
Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce on May 3, 2021. Under the divorce settlement, both Bill and Melinda French Gates remained co-chairs of the foundation for a transitional period, with Melinda French Gates…
2023-06-15
Transactions
PRIMARY
The Gates Foundation Trust — the investment vehicle that holds foundation assets — manages the endowment separately from the grant-making entity. The Trust's investment portfolio has included significant holdings in…
2023-06-15
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PRIMARY
The foundation is required to disburse at least 5% of its assets annually under U.S. private foundation law (IRC Section 4942). Its actual disbursement rate has consistently exceeded this minimum, but critics note that…
2023-06-15
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SECONDARY
JPMorgan Chase internal documents disclosed in the 2023 civil litigation brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JPMorgan (USVI v. JPMorgan Chase, S.D.N.Y.) showed that JPMorgan processed a $1 million donation from…
2023-06-15
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PRIMARY
The foundation is the largest single private funder of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, having committed over $4.1 billion to GAVI since its founding. GAVI was itself co-founded with Gates Foundation seed funding in 2000.
2023-06-15
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PRIMARY
As of its most recent IRS Form 990 filings, the foundation holds an endowment of approximately $75 billion, making it the largest private charitable foundation in the world by assets. Warren Buffett has donated over…
2022-06-15
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PRIMARY
The foundation disbursed approximately $6.6 billion in grants in 2022, with the largest shares going to global health (approximately 48%), global development (approximately 22%), and U.S. programs (approximately 18%)…
2022-06-15
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SECONDARY
The foundation has disbursed over $500 million to pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Merck, and AstraZeneca for vaccine development programs, while simultaneously holding equity positions in pharmaceutical…
2022-06-15
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SECONDARY
The foundation is one of the largest funders of the World Health Organization, providing approximately 10-12% of WHO's total budget through assessed and voluntary contributions in recent years, making it the…
2021-06-15
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SECONDARY
A 2021 investigation by Global Witness found that the Gates Foundation Trust held investments in companies whose activities directly conflicted with the foundation's stated missions, including fossil fuel companies…
2019-10-12
Other facts
SECONDARY
Bill Gates met with Jeffrey Epstein on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2014, including at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. The New York Times reported in October 2019 that Gates met Epstein at least six times and…
2014-06-15
Transactions
SECONDARY
The foundation has given over $2 billion to educational initiatives in the United States, including substantial funding for Common Core State Standards development. Education historians and critics have documented that…
2000-06-15
Other facts
PRIMARY
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 through the merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and organized as a…
