$ cat ./records/gates-donates-100-000-to-defend-washingtons-same-sex-marriage-law-2012.txt
Gates Donates $100,000 to Defend Washington's Same-Sex Marriage Law
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
In 2012, Bill Gates donated $100,000 to the campaign to uphold Washington State's marriage-equality law at the ballot box (Referendum 74), with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer matching the gift; the Gates family's total support for the effort was later reported at around $500,000. The donations helped Washington United for Marriage, and voters approved the referendum — making Washington one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. The high-profile giving was one of Gates's more visible interventions in a social-policy issue.
Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ballmer-gates-give-100000-each-to-defend-gay-marriage-law/
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Related Accomplishments
June 2026
Melinda French Gates commits an additional $215 million to women's health through Pivotal
Melinda French Gates announced in June 2026 that she would donate an additional $215 million through her organization Pivotal to focus on women's reproductive and midlife health, bringing her total support for women's health to about $600 million over two years. The commitment underscored French Gates's independent philanthropic path since stepping down from the Gates Foundation in 2024 and her focus on areas she has said are chronically underfunded. It came amid broader cuts to U.S. reproductive- and global-health funding.
January 2026
Bill Gates publishes the 2026 Gates Foundation Annual Letter, 'Reaching 2045'
Bill Gates published the 2026 Gates Foundation Annual Letter, titled 'Reaching 2045,' framing the next two decades as the Foundation spends down its endowment before closing in 2045. Gates wrote that his optimism now 'comes with footnotes,' questioning whether global generosity will keep pace with rising wealth and whether innovation will be scaled to reduce inequality. He pledged to spend much of 2026 advocating for child-health funding and set a goal of again halving child mortality in the global South by 2045, while voicing both excitement about AI for health and concern about managing its disruption.
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