25th Anniversary Fact Sheet

Twenty-five years ago, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates saw an opportunity to reduce inequity in health globally and in education in the United States. Guided by the belief that all people, no matter where they live or were born, deserve the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life, Bill and Melinda set out working with an array of partners to save and improve millions of lives.

Fast facts

• Changed name to “Gates Foundation” in 2025 to honor Bill Gates Sr.’s legacy and Melinda French Gates’ contributions
• 20+ employees in 2000; 2000+ employees in 2025
• Offices: Seattle (2000), Washington, DC (2002); New Delhi (2003); Beijing (2007); London (2010); Abuja, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg (2012); Berlin (2018); Dakar, Nairobi (2024)
• Over 11,750 partner organizations across 40+ strategies
• Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates contributed $60.2 billion in giving to the foundation since inception to 2024
• Warren Buffett has contributed $43.3 billion to the foundation from 2006 to 2024
• Foundation Trust endowment as of end of 2024: $77.2 billion
• Established with an initial $1B annual budget in 2000, the foundation reached a budget of $8.74B in 2025; it is on track to meet a $9B payout in 2026
• The Gates Foundation has paid out ~$100B over the last quarter century

Approach

The foundation works on problems that aren’t getting addressed by markets – diseases and health conditions that disproportionately affect the world’s poorest people. Since its inception in 2000, the foundation has focused on three key principles:

• Spurring innovation to solve global challenges that others can’t or don’t have the incentive to address.
• Using data and evidence-based solutions to guide policy decisions and maximize limited resources.
• Leveraging market-based approaches to create scalable impact.

Impact

Working with partners globally, the foundation has contributed to progress in global health and development, in economic mobility, and in saving and improving hundreds of millions of lives. Since 2000, the foundation’s grants, advocacy, and expertise contributed to help:

• Demystify the causes of childhood deaths to guide the most effective solutions.
• Fund the invention of lifesaving tools and increasing access to and scaling up delivery of these tools to prevent and reduce infectious diseases.
• Reach billions of children with vaccines through Gavi and save millions of lives through Global Fund's work to fight malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.
• Save 65 million lives through Global Fund's work to fight malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.
• Nearly eradicate polio and significantly reduce the burden of neglected tropical diseases.
• Support India’s incredible progress lifting millions of people out of poverty.
• Help improve U.S. high school graduation rates.
• Contribute to the growth and impact of the philanthropic sector.
• Drive innovations that leapfrog current solutions to address the toughest challenges.
• Expand contraceptive access for women in low- and middle-income countries.

Future vision

A quarter century of progress gives us reason to believe we can do more. On our 25th anniversary, we are committed to helping build a world where:

• No mom, baby, or child dies of a preventable cause.
• The next generation grows up in a world without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases.
• Hundreds of millions more people get out of poverty, with more countries on a path to prosperity.