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Melinda Gates: More Ambitious than Bill? |
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In a recent interview with Vogue, Melinda Gates, wife of the third richest man in the world, revealed her plans: “We are trying to solve world hunger. And of course, disease.” From the mouth of any other, this soaring statement would come across as disillusioned. When the person is backed by the richest charity organization in the world, it’s not quite as easy to dismiss such lofty goals.
Established in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has assets that are estimated around $35 billion. They are backed by friend Warren Buffet, who pledged the bulk of his fortune to their organization.
The focus of the Gates Foundation rests on improving conditions in developing countries; rather than fund research in heart disease or diabetes, the approved projects are usually centered in places such as Africa or Asia and the inherent health problems that plague their developing countries.
The foundation has committed more than $1.5 billion to help start and support the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). Since its inception in 2000, the World Health Organization estimates that GAVI efforts have prevented 3.4 million deaths by delivering basic vaccines to 50 million children.
The results have been eye-opening: from 2005 to 2008, deaths from measles worldwide have fallen from 750,000 to 250,000.
The Gates Foundation invests money into potential charitable projects with the same mindset as investing in business. According to the director of the Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., they “care more about results than about feeling warm and fuzzy. They are perfectly willing to gamble on a project, even if it ultimately fails.”
The bottom-line for charitable organizations is represented by many things, most notably in the number of deaths prevented. The couple envisions doing more than vanquishing AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis – they have also spent billions on improving the disfunctional American high school system, a problem both have said is as challenging as curing AIDS or malaria.
According to Vogue, the couple had planned (and still plan) to give all their money away. Bill envisioned doing it later in life, but primarily through his wife’s charitable initiative, the Gates fortune is being spent early and purposefully.
“You have to be humble in what we are doing, but you also have to be bold,” Melinda said. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Are we going to feed people or sit behind ivory towers and argue about how we do it?’ I want people to live and survive, so we will get out there and try something. If it doesn’t work, we will try something else. And we will keep trying until we find something that works.”
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#1 |
on March 09 2009 01:09:48
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