Bill Gates Reportedly Makes $50 Million Donation Backing Presidential Candidate

According to The New York Times, Bill Gates privately said he donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organization supporting Kamala Harris.

The outlet cited three people briefed on the matter.

“The donation was meant to stay under wraps. Mr. Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft, has not publicly endorsed Ms. Harris, and his donation would represent a significant change in the strategy that has previously kept him away from gifts like this,” The New York Times wrote.

BREAKING: Bill Gates Privately Says He Has Backed Harris With $50 Million Donation – NYT

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 22, 2024

From The New York Times:

In private calls this year to friends and others, Mr. Gates has expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like, according to a person briefed on Mr. Gates’s thinking, although he has stressed that he could work with either candidate. Mr. Gates does not have a deep relationship with Ms. Harris, but he has celebrated the Biden-Harris administration’s work on climate change. Mr. Gates’s philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is significantly concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if Mr. Trump is elected, according to two people close to the foundation.

Mr. Gates has said he made his donation to Future Forward, the main outside fund-raising group supporting Ms. Harris, according to the people briefed on the matter. Mr. Gates has talked about his pro-Harris donation with his peers, including Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and a major supporter of Future Forward who has considered a similarly sized gift, two of the people briefed said. Mr. Gates’s donation went specifically to Future Forward’s nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, which as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” organization does not disclose its donors, according to the people briefed. So any contribution by Mr. Gates will never appear on any public filing.

In response to the outlet’s report, Gates did not explicitly address the donation or provide an endorsement of Harris.

However, he reportedly said that “this election is different.”

Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world, has said privately that he donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organization that is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential run, according to three people briefed on the matter. https://t.co/hh3mmhGC3I pic.twitter.com/d1QKIdb30t

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 22, 2024

Melinda French Gates has also backed Kamala Harris, saying she gave a ‘substantial’ donation to the Harris-Walz campaign.

Melinda French Gates says she made a ‘substantial’ donation to the Harris-Walz campaign https://t.co/hWELSj7JKo

— KatWhitman (@Mile_by_Mile) September 12, 2024

Business Insider reports:

After making her first-ever presidential endorsement this spring, billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates said she made a “substantial” donation to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, Vanity Fair reported.

When French Gates was still a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she cofounded with her ex-husband Bill Gates, she generally avoided wading into partisan causes. She has given money to Republicans and Democrats alike, but determined that a second term with former President Donald Trump “would be dangerous” for reproductive rights in particular.

In fact, French-Gates, who focuses in large part on women’s and reproductive rights, referenced abortion when she endorsed Harris in a post on X. In May, she committed to spending $1 billion through 2026 to groups working for women, families, and reproductive rights.

French-Gates, who is worth nearly $11 billion, did not specify how much she had donated to the Harris-Walz campaign. But her support extends beyond a a direct financial contribution — French-Gates said that she has also offered to host events.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

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