Bill and Melinda Gates Share Their Philanthropic and Political Opinions

On February 13, 2018, Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, answered the 10 most frequently asked questions in their annual letter about their charitable work. These questions covered a wide range of topics, including education, climate change, politics, as well as their philanthropic work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill Gates is the second richest person in the world, as of 2017. With this tremendous amount of money and power, Bill Gates, along with his wife Melinda Gates, funded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, which aims to improve the lives of individuals all over the world in areas such as health, education, poverty, hunger, and so on. One of the questions asked was, "Is it fair that you have so much influence?" To this, both of them answered "no."

It’s not fair that we have so much wealth when billions of others have so little. And it’s not fair that our wealth opens doors that are closed to most people. World leaders tend to take our phone calls and seriously consider what we have to say. Cash-strapped school districts are more likely to divert money and talent toward ideas they think we will fund. - Melinda Gates

However, they went on and explained that this is the reason why they funded their foundation - they want to use their money and power to help people.

We do this work, and use whatever influence we have, to help as many people as possible and to advance equity around the world. - Melinda Gates

So we use our resources in a very specific way: to test out promising innovations, collect and analyze the data, and let businesses and governments scale up and sustain what works. We’re like an incubator in that way. We aim to improve the quality of the ideas that go into public policies and to steer funding toward those ideas that have the most impact. - Bill Gates

The public responded differently to their answers. Some people showed support and commented that it was noble for them to think that way. Others criticized and argued that they could start paying their bills if they really meant what they said.

In another question of the letter, "How are President Trump's policies affecting your foundation's work?" Bill and Melinda Gates shared their opinions on Trump's proposed cuts to foreign aid.

For decades the United States has been a leader in the fight against disease and poverty abroad. These efforts save lives. They also create U.S. jobs. And they make Americans more secure by making poor countries more stable and stopping disease outbreaks before they become pandemics. The world is not a safer place when more people are sick or hungry. - Bill Gates

If the U.S. cuts back on its investments abroad, people in other countries will die, and Americans will be worse off. - Bill Gates 

Bill and Melinda Gates strongly believe that America should engage in helping other countries because it will benefit not only the poor in other regions of the world, but also Americans. However, President Trump argues that America should focus on helping its own people first. Although the two parties disagree on this issue, Bill and Melinda Gates said that they will work together to come up with the best solution.

We need to work with the administration to garner as much support as we can for policies that will benefit the most impoverished people in the world. - Melinda Gates