THE GLOBAL ELITE

The Philanthropists

At No. 22 and 23, Bill and Melinda Gates are obvious choices for our elite list.

NEWSWEEK

Published Dec 20, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Jan 5, 2009

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Where big money goes, the spotlight follows, and that's especially true when you're talking about a checkbook the size of the Gates Foundation's, the world's largest philanthropy. Only 11 years old, the organization has become perhaps the single most powerful force shaping global-health priorities; the Gateses have spent billions trying to eradicate malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and childhood diseases. Now they're also major players in education reform. Since 2000, the Gateses have invested $4 billion to reinvent high schools, create more-effective urban schools, increase enrollment in preschools and provide more college scholarships. In December they announced a plan to lavish up to half a billion dollars over the next four years to reduce the college-dropout rate of low-income students in the United States. "In a time when a degree or credential after high school has never been more important, only 25 percent of low-income students can expect to earn one," said Hilary Pennington, who will direct the project. The Gateses' ambitious goal is to double the number of low-income students earning a college degree by the age of 26.