The New York Times reported in October 2024 that Bill Gates had privately said he recently donated about $50 million to Future Forward USA Action, a nonprofit supporting Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. The report was attributed to people briefed on the matter; the sources cited here do not include a public filing naming Gates as the donor.
What did the New York Times report?
The New York Times reported that Gates had privately said he made a donation of about $50 million to Future Forward USA Action. Axios attributed its account to the Times and also identified Future Forward USA Action as the recipient. These are reports of a private statement, not independent confirmation from a public record. The New York Times report and Axios’s account describe the claim.
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Who reportedly received the money?
The reported recipient was Future Forward USA Action, the nonprofit arm associated with Future Forward. It was an outside organization supporting Harris, not Harris’s campaign committee. A donation to that nonprofit should not be described as a direct contribution to her campaign. The New York Times and Axios identify the nonprofit as the reported recipient.
Why might the donation not appear publicly under Gates’s name?
The IRS says tax-exempt organizations generally do not have to disclose contributors’ names and addresses on annual returns, although exceptions include private foundations and section 527 political organizations. The IRS separately makes certain filings by section 527 political organizations available for public inspection. These rules help explain why a contribution to a nonprofit may not appear as a named individual contribution in the same way as a reportable political-committee receipt; they do not verify that Gates made this particular donation. See the IRS overview of annual reporting and filing and its information on political organizations.
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How does the reported amount compare with the group’s campaign spending?
OpenSecrets’ 2024 annual report put Future Forward USA PAC’s spending on the presidential race at about $509.5 million. It also reported that the PAC’s closely tied nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action, supplied nearly $230.8 million in funds whose ultimate source was unknown. Those are aggregate cycle figures, not evidence that Gates supplied any particular portion of the money. OpenSecrets’ 2024 election spending report provides those figures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did Gates confirm the donation or endorse Harris?
In a statement Axios attributed to Gates in response to the Times report, he said: “I support the candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty, and fighting climate change in the United States and around the world. I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.” The statement gave his stated policy rationale but did not explicitly confirm the reported donation or publicly endorse Harris. Axios’s report and attributed statement.
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