Bill & Melinda Gates

Of course, the ends do not often justify the means. But you can't fault Bill Gates for trying. Over the years, Microsoft used several questionable business strategies to take advantage of its position as an industry leader. Perhaps it continues to do so, to a lesser extent. But as opposed to other unbelievably successful business innovators - the key example being the Walton family of Wal-Mart, who consistently rank with Gates among the world's top ten richest people yet give a ridiculously low amount to any charities or organizations - Gates seems determined to almost singlehandedly save the entire world.

Why? For years, Bill Gates was content to concentrate on Microsoft and kept postponing his father's and wife's attempts to nudge him towards charity. What little he did contribute was solely in donating Microsoft technology, which many saw as a selfish way to add to Microsoft's dominance. But a few years ago he had a change of heart. At his wife's urging, he saw firsthand the horrors that continue to plague the Third World - problems that reach far deeper than computer literacy. So he and his wife started a foundation, one that instantly had more money than any charitable organization in history.

But more money would do little good in the hands of some charities, often infamous for their inefficiency. The key innovation here is their ability to run the Foundation using Microsoft as an model - invest small amounts of money in many diverse technological innovations, and concentrate on the worst problems first, problems so basic that they affect everything else - health and education. So far, they've had incredible success.

Find out more! Links:

Click here to visit their foundation's web site. I can't think of a better organization to help fund. Not surprisingly, they have quite a nice site.

As an introduction, click here to read their letter on the site.

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