January 24, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
Bill and Melinda Gates have put $5-billion more into their foundation, making it the wealthiest philanthropy in the world.
With an endowment of $21.8-billion, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, is now worth more than London’s Wellcome Trust. The Wellcome Trust is worth £13-billion, or about $21.4-billion.
The Gateses’ foundation became the wealthiest U.S. philanthropy in August, when Mr. Gates and his wife gave it $6-billion. At the time, the Gates foundation was worth $17.1-billion (The Chronicle, August 26).
Last year, the couple made three multibillion-dollar gifts to their foundation. Officials of the foundation say the Gateses expect to continue that general pattern of giving.
With the announcement of the new gift, The Chronicle revised its rankings of the five wealthiest private foundations in the United States:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) $21.8-billion Ford Foundation (New York) $13.1-billion David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Los Altos, Cal.) $13.0-billion Lilly Endowment (Indianapolis) $11.2-billion Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Princeton, N.J.) $8.3-billion
Note: All figures, except that for the Gates Foundation, are as of December 31, 1999.
