Bill gates

A global research effort worth tens of billions of dollars is needed to ensure the world is better prepared for the next pandemic, which could be far worse than Covid, The Microsoft founder said the “completely horrific” death toll and economic damage inflicted by coronavirus should drive funding into projects aimed at improving vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests that will be needed to contain the next pandemic more effectively. In an interview with the former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt for the Policy Exchange thinktank, Gates said research and development budgets should focus on weaknesses exposed by the rapid spread of Covid around the world. “You know, we didn’t have vaccines that block transmission. We got vaccines that help you with your health, but they only slightly reduced transmission,” he said. “We need a new way of doing the vaccines.” Covid vaccines partially block transmission of the virus but are more effective at preventing severe disease. The Gates went on to lament the lack of effective treatments for Covid, adding that while the steroid dexamethasone and the new antiviral drug molnupiravir could help, the impact of therapeutics was “way less than should have been the case”. He further criticised the failure to get diagnostic testing up and running to the point that it could dramatically keep death rates down. Gates, who warned in a The WHO taskforce would perform pandemic surveillance and run what Gates called “germ games” where countries prac...

(GeekWire File Photo) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of his trip to China, according to a report from Gates said Wednesday that he landed in China and is visiting the country for the first time since 2019. He plans to visit with Gates Foundation partners, according to his Reuters reported Gates’ 1-on-1 meeting with Xi would be the Chinese leader’s first with a foreign private entrepreneur in recent years. Gates and Xi previously met in 2015. Taylor Soper is GeekWire's managing editor, responsible for coordinating the newsroom, planning coverage, and editing stories. A native of Portland, Ore., and graduate of the University of Washington, he was previously a GeekWire staff reporter, covering beats including startups and sports technology. Follow him

(1955-) Who Is Bill Gates? Entrepreneur and businessman Bill Gates and his business partner Early Life Gates was born William Henry Gates III on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. Gates grew up in an upper-middle-class family with his older sister, Kristianne, and younger sister, Libby. Their father, William H. Gates Sr., was a promising, if somewhat shy, law student when he met his future wife, Mary Maxwell. She was an athletic, outgoing student at the University of Washington, actively involved in student affairs and leadership. The Gates family atmosphere was warm and close, and all three children were encouraged to be competitive and strive for excellence. Gates showed early signs of competitiveness when he coordinated family athletic games at their summer house on Puget Sound. He also relished in playing board games (Risk was his favorite) and excelled at Monopoly. Gates had a very close relationship with his mother, Mary, who after a brief career as a teacher devoted her time to helping raise the children and working on civic affairs and with charities. She also served on several corporate boards, including those of the First Interstate Bank in Seattle (founded by her grandfather), the United Way and International Business Machines (IBM). She would often take Gates along when she volunteered in schools and at community organizations. Education Gates was a voracious reader as a child, spending many hours poring over reference books such as the encyclopedia. Aro...

Bill Gates has responded to allegations of an extramarital affair on the first anniversary of the joint announcement that he and “I certainly made mistakes, and I take responsibility,” the Microsoft co-founder told Today on Tuesday morning, when asked if he was ever unfaithful throughout his 27-year marriage to French Gates. Read more “The divorce is definitely a sad thing,” the 66-year-old billionaire and philanthropist said. “I have responsibility for causing a lot of pain to my family. It was a tough year. I feel good that all of us are moving forward now.” Gates added: “Melinda and I are continuing to work together. It was sad and tragic, but now we’re moving together.” Gates refused to disclose additional details about the affair, saying: “I don’t think delving into the particulars at this point is constructive, but yes, I caused pain and I feel terrible about that.” In an interview with CBS in March, French Gates “There just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy,” she said. “I couldn’t trust what we had.” French Gates also revealed that she cried numerous times during her marriage, sometimes while lying on the floor. “How can I get up? How am I going to move?” she would ask herself, she said. In response to French Gates’s comments, He continued: “I know divorces are different, but it’s just a complete change. We were partners, we kind of grew up together, and now that’s different. We’re not married.” French Gates des...