6/29/06

How $60 Billion Behemoth Will Affect World Charity

What impact will a $60 billion megacharitable foundation have on the causes it espouses, and on the world of philanthropy in general?

As the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation prepares to roughly double in size in coming years with a massive contribution from Warren Buffett, will its financial firepower and entrepreneurial approach change the course of global health care, and even society? Or will its size work against it, sucking oxygen from other efforts and attracting critics at every turn?

The Gates Foundation will receive only a small portion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Mr. Buffett's $30.7 billion gift this year. But the charity is already the world's largest philanthropic organization with a $30.6 billion endowment.

Since its founding in 1994 it has built a track record in targeting the world's three biggest killers -- AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- among other major scourges, and funding programs in prevention, diagnosis and treatment using existing tests, drugs and vaccines.

Last year, the Gates Foundation spent $1.36 billion -- approaching the World Health Organization's budget for 2006 of $1.66 billion.

Mr. Gates said at the news conference, "If you want to deal with billions of people, you need scale."

[Excerpt of article by Sally Beatty, Marilyn Chase and Gautam Naik, The Wall Street Journal]

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