Gates £240M support to British scientists.

[Paul K]

BBC

British scientists have been awarded multi-million pound grants for research into tuberculosis, malaria and HIV by Microsoft billonaire Bill Gates.
Mr Gates is donating £240m to 43 projects world-wide designed to tackle some of the world's biggest killers.
Among the successful bidders is London's Imperial College,which will receive £11m to fund work on TB.
St George's Medical School in London will get £10.7m to develop a HIV vaccine for women.
One will be given £9m to investigate why some people appear to be more resistant to malaria than others, and a second will be given £5.4m to investigate vaccines for HIV, TB and malaria
The Gates Foundation received more than 1,500 bids from scientists after announcing its intention in 2003 to fund research into tackling disease in the world's poorest countries.

And before anyone posts along the lines of "Well he can afford to" or "Thats pocket change to him" just remember this......
he doesn't have to donate money to charity, he could just keep stockpiling his cash like a lot of wealthy people.

[Bifta]

Paul, you forgot the inevitable "tax writeoff" comments. But you're right, he didn't have to donate it and he didn't have to donate it to a worthy cause.

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by Bifta

Paul, you forgot the inevitable "tax writeoff" comments. But you're right, he didn't have to donate it and he didn't have to donate it to a worthy cause.

Dammit, knew I missed one lol For anyone that is interested here's a quick clue as to how much they donate each year
Wiki Reference

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest charitable foundation, endowed by Bill Gates, chairman and founder of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda Gates. It was created in January 2000 through the merger of the Gates Learning Foundation and the William H. Gates Foundation. The foundation is based in Seattle, Washington and is led by William H. Gates, Sr. (Bill Gates' father) and Patty Stonesifer.
The foundation has an endowment of approximately US$28.8 billion. To maintain its status as a charitable foundation, it must donate at least 5 percent of its assets each year. This amounts to over $1 billion.

[Pierre]

Does this mean he isn't the anti-christ?

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Does this mean he isn't the anti-christ?

Nah you can all still hate him if you want, he did bring Windows 95 into the world after all

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Paul

And before anyone posts along the lines of "Well he can afford to" or "Thats pocket change to him" just remember this......
he doesn't have to donate money to charity, he could just keep stockpiling his cash like a lot of wealthy people.

Yes, but there are also tax advantages for rich people donating to charity.

In 2002, more than 40 million tax payers claimed $136.4 billion in charitable deductions. That's the third biggest deduction after taxes paid and mortgage interest.

A charitable contribution is a gift to a qualified organization. The tax law allows charitable contributions as itemized deductions. Because these gifts are deductible, the actual cost of the donation is reduced by your savings. For example, if you are in the 25% tax bracket in 2004 and 2005, the actual cost of a $100 donation is only $75 ($100 less the $25 tax savings). As your income tax bracket increases, the real cost of your charitable gift decreases, making contributions more attractive for those in higher brackets.

The actual cost to a person in the lowest bracket, 10%, for a $100 contribution is $90. For a person in the highest bracket, 35%, the actual cost is only $65.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...xes/P33409.asp

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by Graham

Yes, but there are also tax advantages for rich people donating to charity.



http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...xes/P33409.asp

Wahey!

Paul, you forgot the inevitable "tax writeoff" comments

Graham for teh win!

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by Bifta

Wahey!

Graham for teh win!

You just knew we could rely on someone

[Alanmelon]

St George's Medical School in London will get £10.7m to develop a HIV vaccine for women.

Surely a vaccine for women would also work for men? I don't understand why they've made the distinction there?

"Sorry sir, no vaccine for you today, however, perhaps I could interest you in this very competitively priced sex change op? It might just save your life..."