BILL GATES: Denies Plan to Give Fortune to Health Causes
Following press reports on Monday that Microsoft founder Bill Gates plans to donate most of his $105 billion fortune to health care causes, the foundations established by he and his wife Melinda said they "have no imminent plans to give away the entirety of their wealth." According to Trevor Neilson, spokesperson for the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, the Gates endowed the foundations with $11.3 billion to support global health and education initiatives. Neilson says "the couple has expressed a desire to return the majority of their wealth back to society" and "have made several significant gifts to global health and learning ... and will continue to make these gifts on a regular basis." The statement contradicted a story in the London Times in which his father said Gates plans to donate the bulk of his fortune to combat diseases such as AIDS and malaria (William H. Gates Foundation release, 8/2).
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