Bill Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft and one of the richest people in the world, has supported the vice president and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, with a secret donation of $50 million, according to The New York Times on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Gates privately told three different sources that he recently made this donation to a nonprofit supporting Harris’ presidential bid.
However, the former executive director of Microsoft has not made public his financial support for the Democratic leader.
“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and combating climate change in the US and around the world (…) I have a long track record working with leaders from across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented importance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world,” Gates said in a statement to The New York Times.
Gates’ philanthropy, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is very concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if former Republican President Donald Trump is elected, according to two people who spoke to the NYT.
According to the outlet, Gates has expressed concerns about what a second Donald Trump presidency would be like in calls to friends, but has also emphasized that he could work with either candidate.
Gates’ donation went specifically to the nonprofit arm of Future Forward, which as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” organization does not disclose its donors, according to the outlet. That is why none of Gates’ contributions appear in any public document.
Gates has discussed his donation to Harris with Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and a leading supporter of Future Forward, who has considered a donation of similar size, according to the American newspaper.
The newspaper points out that the reason why some donors choose this way of contributing to the campaign is because some of those billionaire donors who support Harris fear possible repercussions from Trump if he wins the November 5 elections.
The one who has not been discreet with his donations this year has been the businessman Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, who has invested more than 75 million dollars to try to get Trump back to the White House.
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