Other Interests
“ ...once you’ve found a solution that works, catalytic philanthropy can harness political and market forces to get those innovations to the people who need them most.”
In addition to the foundation’s work, Bill has separately taken on some projects to address issues that interest him personally, such as delivering clean energy to everyone who needs it.
In all his work—with the foundation and otherwise—he’s focused on what he calls catalytic philanthropy: investments in innovations that will improve life for the poorest. They’re solutions to problems where markets and governments underinvest.
2006
Bill helped launch TerraPower, a company that aims to provide the world with a more affordable, secure, and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy.
2010
Melinda, Warren Buffett, and Bill launched the Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest people to dedicate most of their wealth to philanthropy.
2014
Bill tried his hand at making a viral video with Jimmy Fallon. This has nothing to do with catalytic philanthropy–he just thought you might enjoy it.
2015
Bill spearheaded the formation of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition to fund clean energy initiatives, avoid a climate disaster, and make sure that everyone on the planet can enjoy a good standard of living.
2017
Bill teamed up with Roger Federer in the fourth annual Match for Africa, a charity tennis match that raises money for the Roger Federer Foundation.
2018
Bill joined forces with a group of philanthropists to create the Diagnostics Accelerator, a program aimed at finding a way to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier.
2019
Bill joined long-time friend Warren Buffett to serve customers at Dairy Queen. It did not go well.
2019
The Netflix documentary Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates was released. The three-part series told the story of Bill’s life from childhood through Microsoft through his work today.
2020
Bill and Melinda committed about $1.75 billion to support the global response to COVID-19.
2020
Bill and Rashida Jones co-hosted a new podcast, “Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions.”
