Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Timeline
2008
During a convening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates addresses
international business and government leaders in a speech on “creative capitalism,” encouraging
them to ”stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain
recognition, doing work that eases the world's inequities.”
Patty Stonesifer announces she will transition from CEO to a new and different role at the
foundation. Jeff Raikes, former president of the Microsoft Business Division, is named the next
CEO of the foundation effective September 2, 2008.
2007
The foundation forms advisory panels for each of its three program areas – Global Health, Global
Development, and the U.S. Program – in a continued effort to benefit from outside experts and
have a greater impact on reducing the world's inequities. Each panel is comprised of experts with
a wide range of experience and perspectives relevant to the foundation’s core issues.
Co-chair Bill Gates returns to Harvard University to receive an honorary degree and speaks to the
university’s graduates on the importance of philanthropy and giving.
Co-Chair Melinda French Gates joins former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to
speak at the 75th Anniversary Benefit for Save the Children. The three are honored for their global
humanitarian work and steadfast support of Save the Children and its programs.
2006
The foundation reorganizes into three programs: Global Development, Global Health, and United
States. As of 2008, the three program presidents are Allan C. Golston, U.S. Program; Dr. Tadataka
“Tachi” Yamada, Global Health Program; and Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Global Development
Program.
Co-Chair Bill Gates announces he will transition from his fulltime position at Microsoft Corporation
to work fulltime for the foundation, beginning in 2008.
U.S. investor Warren Buffett pledges to give 10 million Berkshire Hathaway class B shares to the
foundation to further its philanthropic mission.
2005
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and foundation CEO Patty Stonesifer announce that the foundation will
build new headquarters near the city’s landmark Space Needle. The foundation plans to move into
its new campus in the winter of 2010.
2000
The William H. Gates Foundation merges with the Gates Learning Foundation and is renamed the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of the merger is to build the right organizations, teams,
strategies and initiatives to effectively use the foundation’s increased endowment. The main
initiatives are: Global Health, Education, Libraries, and Pacific Northwest. Patty Stonesifer and
William H. Gates Sr. serve as the foundation’s co-chairs.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Timeline Page 2
With a broadening commitment to education, the Gates Library Foundation becomes the Gates
Learning Foundation. Bill and Melinda Gates contribute nearly $16 billion to the foundations, which
move from separate offices above a pizza parlor and downtown to a new facility in Seattle.
1997
Bill and Melinda Gates launch the Gates Library Foundation to bring computers and Internet
access to public libraries in low-income communities in the United States and Canada. Former
Microsoft executive Patty Stonesifer takes on the foundation’s leadership. The William H. Gates
Foundation continues as a separate entity.
1994
After years of contributing to charitable causes, Bill and Melinda Gates consolidate their giving to
address two main initiatives: Global Health and community needs in the Pacific Northwest. Bill’s
father, William H. Gates Sr., agrees to manage the new William H. Gates Foundation, formed in
December 1994 with an initial stock gift of about $94 million.