Bill Gates thrown into political fray with major donation

He’s not known for giving to specific political candidates, but Seattle billionaire Bill Gates apparently has changed his mind.

The New York Times reports Gates has donated a whopping $50 million to Future Forward, a nonprofit organization that is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.

Gates has not publically supported Harris and the Times said the donation was meant to be a secret. In private, Gates has expressed concern about what a Donald Trump presidency would look like the second time around.

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“At the end of the day, Bill Gates is a progressive Democrat,” Seattle political analyst and head of Strategies 360 Ron Dotzauer told MyNorthwest. “He’s clearly not a fan of Donald Trump and his policies.”

Gates has supported the Biden-Harris administration’s work on climate change but reportedly does not have a close relationship with Harris.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is significantly concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if  Trump is elected, according to two people close to the foundation who spoke to the Times. The Gates donation will never appear on any public filing.

In response to the Times report, Gates said “This election is different.”

“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” he told the Times. “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.”

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Gates has an estimated net worth of $162 billion and has long been encouraged by family, friends and Democratic donors to get involved in beating Trump.

Back in 2019, Gates said, “I choose not to participate in large political donations. There are times it might feel tempting to do so, and there are other people who choose to do so, but I just don’t want to grab that gigantic megaphone.”

“The tricky part of late donations is that the campaign has to have a plan to spend it,” Dotzauer said. “I assume the money will go to the (Harris) ground game and with an election as close as this, the late ground game could be the difference between winning and losing.”

His ex-wife Melinda French Gates has also cut a check to Future Forward, which has been very involved in the advertising barrage against Trump.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X and email him here.