| A. We were surprised! B. They didn't care about fame. C. It was about children in poor countries. D. They decided to give 95 percent of it away. E. A foundation is like a business that is set up to give away money. F. Some important people in Bill's life encouraged him to be generous |
Bill Gates is the cofounder of Microsoft Corp, the world's largest personal computer software company. Since he stepped down as chairman of Microsoft Corp., he has put his mind to donating money to several charities.
His mother, Mary Gates, had been active in charity work before she died in 1994. Bill's friend Warren Buffet also advised him to donate his money. But probably the biggest influence on Bill was his wife, Melinda. She is a kind woman who believes in helping others.
Bill and Melinda talked about what to do with their great wealth.Bill said."I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility—a responsibility to give back to society."
In 2000, the couple created the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation.Bill and Melinda donated billions of dollars from their personal wealth to their foundation. Now they asked themselves this question, "How can we do the most good for the greatest number with the money we have？"
Bill read a report several years ago.It said that millions of poor children were dying from diseases that no longer existed in richer countries. They were diseases such as polio, malaria and yellow fever. Many of these children could be saved by getting a vaccine that cost just a few cents! Bill showed the information to Melinda."" Bill told a TV reporter. "We said to ourselves, ‘This can't be true. But if it is true, it should be the first thing we would consider when we're donating.'"
