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Gates pledges $750m vaccine fund
Bill Gates: Still the world's richest man |
The charity set up by Bill Gates, boss of US software giant Microsoft, is to donate $750m over the next five years to get life-saving vaccines to children in developing countries.
The donation by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help launch the Global Fund for Children¿s Vaccine's, which will begin to buy and distribute vaccines in the next six to eight months.
 (We) are committed to ensuring that every child has access to lifesaving vaccines ... regardless of where they live  |
| Bill Gates |
Civil lawsuit
The foundation will work with the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, and the World Bank, the World Health Organisation and pharmaceutical companies to vaccinate against tuberculosis, polio, tetanus, hepatitis B and measles.
With more than $17bn in the foundation's bank, it is the world's second-richest philanthropic organisation, and within shouting distance of the world number one, Glaxo Wellcome in the UK.
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US top-five foundations |
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation $17.1bn |
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David and Lucile Packard Foundation $13bn |
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Ford Foundation $11.4bn |
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Lilly Endowment $11.1bn |
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |
This reduced their total fortune to $77.5bn as of the end of September.
But Bill Gates is still comfortably the richest man in the world.
A recent spate of donations from the foundation come a civil lawsuit is filed in California, threatening to cost Microsoft billions of dollars.
Billion-dollar donations
This action follows the antitrust ruling two weeks ago that the company has abused its dominant position in the market.
Lawyers in San Francisco filed a suit on Monday alleging that Microsoft used its monopoly power to overcharge buyers of its Windows 95 and 98 PC operating systems.
This has prompted many newspapers in the US to observe that Mr Gates' recent flood of generosity might prompt cynicism in the light of the company's legal battles.
Three years ago, Mr Gates was chided by Time Warner vice-chairman Ted Turner and others for not giving away enough of his money.
While Mr Turner was laying down the gauntlet to Mr Gates to be more charitable, Mr Turner, himself, was pledging $1bn to the UN.
Since then, the Gates Foundation has pledged $4bn to various causes.
Tax breaks
Charitable donations attract generous tax breaks in the US.
But Gates' charitable gifts overshadow the other wealthy titans of their age, including George Soros, the US financier, who has given away $2bn.
Last year, the Gates Foundation donated $100 million to help speed new vaccines to children in developing countries.
In September this year Mr Gates pledged $1bn, spread over 20 years, to finance scholarships for minority students through the United Negro College Fund.
A donation of $20m to the public library of Seattle last year prompted observers to liken Mr Gates to the legendary US philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who established the system of free public libraries in the US.
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See also: |
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04 Jun 99 | Your Money |
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Bill Gates' $5bn donation |
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22 Nov 99 | Business |
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Microsoft faces civil suits |
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17 Jun 99 | Medical notes |
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Infectious disease: A guide |
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15 Nov 99 | The Company File |
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Gates rebounds from court blow |
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13 Apr 99 | Your Money |
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Gates becomes first man to top $100bn |
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18 Jun 99 | Health |
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Six diseases threaten world |
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
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