Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, was the wealthiest individual worldwide almost every year from 1995 to 2017. Currently, he ranks 15th on Forbes’ list of the richest people globally.
As much as a billionaire can be modest, Gates committed in 2022 to donate ‘virtually all’ of his wealth, primarily through the Gates Foundation.
He and his former wife pledged to distribute their vast fortune, donating over $70 billion so far. But where does Trump fit into this narrative?
The Gates Foundation has a ‘Global Health’ division aiming to reduce health disparities by creating new tools and strategies to lessen the impact of infectious diseases and leading causes of child mortality in developing countries.
The primary topic of discussion between Trump and Gates revolved around how the US government could contribute to addressing global health challenges.
Gates shared that he was ‘impressed’ by the conversation, suggesting he now holds Trump in high regard.
“I felt like he [Trump] was energized and looking forward to helping to drive innovation. I was frankly impressed with how well he showed a lot of interest in the issues I brought up,” he mentioned to The Wall Street Journal.
“I had a chance to go have a long, and actually quite intriguing dinner with him.
“We touched on a lot of things. It was over three hours, to my surprise. It was just he and I, his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and the person that helps manage things for me, Larry Cohen.”
Gates continued: “So the four of us sat there, and it was quite wide-ranging. Global health’s the area that I work in, and such amazing things have happened and can happen there.
“I spoke a lot about HIV and that the foundation’s literally working on a cure for that. We’re at an early stage, and so he, in the Covid days, accelerated the vaccine innovation.”
He further discussed checking with the president about advancing the HIV cure at a similar pace, with both feeling ‘pretty excited’ about the potential.
The discussion also touched on polio and the Gates Foundation’s efforts to eliminate the disease.