On 7 January 2007, the LA Times ran a piece that was the result of an investigative report on the contradictory practices of the Gates Foundation. Its development programmes are financed by investment income reaped from some of capitalism’s most rapacious companies. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story
The story caused quite a burn to the Foundation. And they have replied with an agreement to reassess their investments: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fi-gates11jan11,0,4006071.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fi-gates12jan12,0,4464825.story
But alas, The Foundation will keep its investment strategy that allows it to gain from companies that contribute to the human suffering it seeks to alleviate/eradicate. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gates14jan14,0,5906621.story
An interesting and important debate for development academics and practitioners to pick up. Are the Gates’ great philanthropists or is are the capitalist roots of Microsoft showing in creating the most profitable endowment in memory? The Foundation invests more than it grants, and don’t forget that the grants are tax-deductible.
Looks to me like the next-best thing in development planning — private sector investment — will deliver any more than the hype that followed public-private partnerships, or the promise of NGOs and CBOs…
