News Brief
Bill Gates
After decades of political neutrality, Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world, has said privately that he recently donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organisation that is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential run.
According to the people briefed on the matter, Gates has said he donated to Future Forward, the main outside fund-raising group supporting Harris.
In a statement in response to this report, Gates did not explicitly address the donation or offer an endorsement of Harris in the race.
He stressed his bipartisanship, but also said that “this election is different”.
His philanthropic organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is significantly concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if Trump is elected again, the report said.
“I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”
In an interview with FRANCE 24 in July, when Kamala Harris was made the new Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid, Gates had welcomed the prospect of "somebody who's younger, who can think about things like AI".
The United States Elections are to take place on November 5 2024, and voters will elect not just a President but also congressional candidates for seats in the House of Representatives and the US Senate.