February 06, 2023 Think the Gates Foundation Is Too Influential? It May Get a Lot Bigger — Or Never Go Away February 06, 2023/ Michael Kavate The largest foundation in the U.S. will soon spend $9 billion a year. But a look at the numbers suggests that’s still far from enough to fulfill its pledge to spend down, if that’s actually the plan.Read More
January 05, 2023 Bill Gates' Perpetuity Problem January 05, 2023/ Philip Rojc Bill Gates says he wants to spend down in 25 years, but that’s hard to square with the foundation he’s built — a technocratic global health juggernaut that, in an earlier era, would almost certainly have been intended for perpetuity.Read More
September 29, 2022 Billionaires Are Still Stingy, but There May Be Grounds for Hope September 29, 2022/ Philip Rojc A flagging stock market has probably been the biggest contributor to billionaires’ modestly improved giving ratios this year. But while the super-rich still don’t give away much, there’s also a growing list of interesting exceptions.Read More
August 24, 2022 What Was Philanthropy’s Role in Passing the Biggest Climate Bill in U.S. History? August 24, 2022/ Michael Kavate The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was a massive effort involving players from all sectors. Philanthropy, too, had a supporting role. Here are key areas where funders contributed, from movement-building to policy work.Read More
July 28, 2022 Where Will Warren Buffett’s Billions Go? 6 Questions We're Asking About the Future of His Fortune July 28, 2022/ Philip Rojc Upon his passing, Warren Buffett’s estate is set to fuel over $100 billion in giving within a decade. Beyond that, there is little certainty and growing speculation about how it will play out. Here are some of the big unknowns.Read More
July 14, 2022 Staying the Course: 5 Takeaways From Bill Gates' $20 Billion Infusion into the Gates Foundation July 14, 2022/ Philip Rojc Bill Gates’ ultra-gift of $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reaffirms his place as a titan of modern philanthropy. It also signals more of the same to come from the foundation — for better or worse.Read More
July 06, 2022 Bill Gates Is Raising Billions for Climate Change. Who’s on Board, and Where Is the Money Going? July 06, 2022/ Michael Kavate Bill Gates has raised more than $3.5 billion in financing and philanthropy for his climate technology and policy shop. Find out who is supporting Breakthrough Energy, what it’s backing, and what we still don’t know.Read More
May 12, 2022 Bill Gates Rebranded Himself a Philanthropist. What Would It Look Like for Elon Musk to Do the Same? May 12, 2022/ Philip Rojc When the annals of today’s new Gilded Age philanthropy are written, where will Elon Musk stand relative to Bill Gates, MacKenzie Scott and the rest? And whose more expansive definition of philanthropy will win out?Read More
May 09, 2022 What Do Gates, Zuckerberg and Company Have in Common? An Obsession with “Breakthroughs” May 09, 2022/ Michael Kavate Billionaire tech donors like chasing “breakthroughs,” especially when it comes to their climate giving. What does this oft-repeated nomenclature say about their mindset—and what’s missing from their philanthropy?Read More
March 10, 2022 Why Gates Is Building Up Local Immunology Capacity to Study COVID in the Global South March 10, 2022/ Paul Karon A Gates Foundation program is funding the development of local laboratory sites throughout the Global South to improve our understanding and response to new COVID variants and other epidemic threats.Read More
January 26, 2022 A Billionaire, a Baroness and Bridgespan: What We Know—and Don’t Know—About Gates’ New Board January 26, 2022/ Philip Rojc It’s finally happened. The Gates Foundation has four new trustees, three of whom are newcomers. Here’s a bit about each of them, and what this new arrangement may tell us about the world’s largest foundation.Read More
January 12, 2022 What We Learned From a Deep Dive Into Tech Industry Giving January 12, 2022/ Mike Scutari We recently published an in-depth paper on the philanthropy of mega-donors hailing from the tech industry, as part of IP’s State of American Philanthropy project. Author Mike Scutari walks through some of our key takeaways.Read More
August 04, 2021 For Many, There’s No Such Thing as a Good Billionaire. What Does That Mean for Philanthropy? August 04, 2021/ Philip Rojc Surging fortunes and outrageous behavior are stoking a debate about whether there’s such a thing as a “good billionaire.” Philanthropy often gets caught in the crossfire, signaling a real problem in how the sector is perceived.Read More
July 08, 2021 Gates Foundation Drama Continues: Melinda Could Exit, New Trustees Are on the Way July 08, 2021/ Michael Kavate Adding to a summer of turmoil at the Gates Foundation, the grantmaker announced Melinda may leave in two years if she or Bill find they cannot work together. The foundation also plans to add new trustees, a big governance shift.Read More
June 25, 2021 Warren Buffett Steps Down as a Trustee of the Gates Foundation, Deepening Questions About Its Future June 25, 2021/ Michael Kavate Alongside Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett has long been one of only three trustees governing the Gates Foundation. Here’s why he may be stepping down, and what that might mean for the $54 billion institution.Read More
May 21, 2021 The Gates Foundation Faces an Uncertain Future. Here’s How That Might Play Out May 21, 2021/ David Callahan The future of the world’s most important grantmaker is anything but clear, whatever its leaders may be saying. We play out a few of the possible scenarios—including the foundation’s dissolution.Read More
May 05, 2021 What the Gates Divorce Might Mean for Philanthropy—and What It Doesn't Mean May 05, 2021/ Philip Rojc The divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates has sent shockwaves through the sector, and could have major implications if Melinda Gates were to expand her own giving. We take a look at what might happen, and what probably won’t.Read More
May 04, 2021 Gates’s Vaccine Comments Spark Backlash Over Outsize Role of Billionaire Donors May 04, 2021/ Michael Kavate Bill Gates caused an uproar when he argued against waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, saying that it would not help. The episode illustrates how large billionaire philanthropy looms in global affairs.Read More
March 04, 2021 How Bill and Melinda Gates Seek to Reverse Declines in the Ranks of Small Donors March 04, 2021/ Holly Hall Over the past two decades, growing inequality has contributed to declining numbers of “everyday donors.” Decidedly non-everyday donors Bill and Melinda Gates have made it a priority to counter this trend. Read More
February 04, 2021 Geoengineering Is Moving Out of the Margins. Who’s Funding This Controversial Field? February 04, 2021/ Michael Kavate The idea of solar geoengineering, cooling the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space, is working its way into mainstream consideration. Who is funding work in this space? Who is for and against? And how scared should we be?Read More