Jan 18, 2023
Does The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have too much power and influence? It's a question the foundation's CEO Mark Suzman raised in its annual letter released Tuesday that outlines the organization's priorities and announces its budget for the coming year. With $8.3 billion to give away in 2023, the Gates Foundation is the largest private philanthropic donor. And with an endowment of more than $70 billion, its spending power is likely to continue for many decades. When asked in an interview with The Associated Press what he thought the answer to that question was, Suzman said, "No." He said the Seattle-based foundation takes its direction from the Sustainable Development Goals, set by the United Nations and its member countries in 2015, and knows that with its great resources come great responsibility. "We try to use our tools, our skills, our resources, sometimes our technical skills, sometimes our voice in advocacy to help advance and drive those forwar