Universities Weblog

Let's see. I have $31 billion just lying around, and I think it's time to unload it. What to do….

I could give most of it to charity, perhaps refurbish some inner-city schools or try to cure some disease. Or, I don't know, maybe I could give it to Bill Gates. Yeah, that's it. That's what I'll do. I'm sure he needs it.

Just kidding? Nope. Warren Buffet, the second-richest man in the U.S., is giving the bulk of his fortune to the richest man, Bill Gates. More specifically, he's giving it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is already the world's largest with about $29 billion in assets. When all the dust settles, the Gates Foundation, based in Seattle, will have roughly $60 billion and will give away $3 billion per year. Not many foundations have $3 billion period.

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Gates Foundation will be worth nearly as much as the eight other richest grant makers in the United States combined. "Indeed," it states, "if the Gates Foundation were a country, its assets would make it the 55th-largest economy in the world, larger than the gross domestic product of oil-rich Kuwait."

Unfortunately, the Gates Foundation doesn't support higher education very much. Let's hope colleges and universities will benefit in the future. We have needs too.

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