Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we focus on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, we seek to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Grantmaking Areas
We also have a small Charitable Sector Support initiative.
Locations
- Headquarters – Seattle, Wash.
- East Coast Office – Washington, D.C.
- Avahan Initiative – Delhi, India
- China Office – Beijing, China
- Europe Office – London, United Kingdom
Leadership
- Bill Gates, Co-chair
- Melinda French Gates, Co-chair
- William H. Gates Sr., Co-chair
- Jeff Raikes, Chief Executive Officer
- Allan C. Golston, President, United States Program
- Dr. Tadataka “Tachi” Yamada, President, Global Health Program
- Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President, Global Development Program
- Keith Olson, Interim Chief Financial Officer, Operations
- Connie Collingsworth, General Counsel
- Martha Choe, Chief Administrative Officer
- Geoff Lamb, Managing Director of Public Policy
- Franci Phelan, Chief Human Resources Officer
- Patty Stonesifer, Senior Advisor to the Trustees
Statistics
Number of employees: approximately 818(1)
Asset trust endowment: $33.5 billion(1) (2)
Total grant commitments since inception: $22.61 billion (1)
Total 2009 grant payments: $3.0 billion
Geographic reach
The foundation supports grantees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Internationally, we support work in more than 100 countries.
Illustrative Grant Commitments
- The GAVI Alliance, expanding childhood immunization - $1.5 billion
- United Negro College Fund, Gates Millennium Scholars Program - $1.37 billion
- Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), improving seeds and soil for African farmers - $456 million
- Rotary International, polio eradication - $355 million
- PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) - $287 million
- Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives - $112 million
- United Way of King County - $85 million
- World Food Programme, increasing small farmer income - $66 million
- TechnoServe, helping small coffee farmers improve crops and fetch higher prices - $47 million
- Heifer International, helping small farmers grow local and regional dairy markets - $43 million
- Mexico, National Council on Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA), Global Libraries Program - $30 million
- Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), testing and promoting the use of information and communications technologies to deliver microfinance products - $24 million
- Achieve, Inc. and the American Diploma Project Network, assisting states in aligning high school standards with the expectations of college and career - $23 million
- Chicago Public Schools, curriculum support - $21 million
- Opportunity Online Program, multiple library systems - $16.4 million
- Opportunity International Inc., developing and expanding a network of commercial banks in Africa - $15.4 million
- Green Dot Public Schools, supporting the transformations of Jefferson and Locke high schools in Los Angeles, Calif., into high-performing charter high schools - $9.7 million
(1) As of December 31, 2009
(2) Endowment includes $1.6 billion from the first installment of the gift from Warren Buffett recorded August 24, 2006, the second installment of $1.76 billion recorded on July 11, 2007, the third installment of $1.8 billion recorded on July 1, 2008, and the fourth installment of $1.25 billion recorded on July 1, 2009.