Bill Gates tests positive for Covid, says he is experiencing mild symptoms
The billionaire philanthropist has been completely vaccinated and received his booster shot too.
By ET Online and Agencies | Updated:
AFP
Bill Gates has isolated himself until he is healthy again.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed on Wednesday (local time) that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a series of tweets, the philanthropist said that he was experiencing mild symptoms, and will isolate himself until he is healthy again. "... am following the experts' advice by isolating until I'm healthy again," he added.
The billionaire further informed that he has been completely vaccinated and received his booster shot too. "I'm fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care," he wrote in one of his tweets.
I'm fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care.
Sharing insight about the efforts taken by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the 66-year-old said that the philanthropic arm is meeting for the first time in two years, and he will join them on Microsoft Teams (video calling & messaging platform).
"The Gates Foundation is coming together today for the first time in two years, and I am lucky to be on Teams to see everyone and thank them for their hard work," his tweet read.
We will continue working with partners and do all we can to ensure none of us have to deal with a pandemic again.
"We will continue working with partners and do all we can to ensure none of us has to deal with a pandemic again," he concluded his post.
The Seattle-based foundation is the most influential private foundation in the world, with an endowment of about $65 billion.
Bill Gates has been a vocal proponent of pandemic mitigation measures, especially access to vaccines and medication for poorer countries. The Gates Foundation in October said it will spend $120 million to boost access to generic versions of drugmaker Merck's antiviral COVID-19 pill for lower-income countries.
Bill & Melinda Gates: From Philanthropic Work To Cocktail Parties, They Always Came As A Pair
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From muddy streets in South Africa's townships to cocktail parties at Davos -- Bill and Melinda Gates came as a pair.
Together, they built a charitable empire through Bill's technology company Microsoft and the massive non-profit they co-founded and co-chair, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
And when it came time to announce Monday the end of their 27-year marriage, they did that as a pair too in a joint statement posted to their respective Twitter accounts at exactly the same moment.
From muddy streets in South Africa's townships to cocktail parties at Davos -- Bill and Melinda Gates came as a pair. Together, they built a charitable empire through Bill's technology company Micros..
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Gates, 65, summed it up like this in a 2019 Netflix documentary series: "In the case of Melinda, it is truly an equal partner."
"She's a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is interested in science. She is better with people than I am. She's a tiny bit less hard core about knowing, you know, immunology, than I am." Born October 28, 1955, William H. Gates grew up in Seattle and fell in love with machines and computer programming as a geeky-looking 13-year-old. He left Harvard University after two years to start "Micro-soft," a software company, with a childhood friend.
On the other side of the country, Melinda Gates was born Melinda French on August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas. The first computer she ever used was an Apple II, and she developed an interest in computer games and programming at school.
Gates, 65, summed it up like this in a 2019 Netflix documentary series: "In the case of Melinda, it is truly an equal partner." "She's a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is interested in..
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The couple met in 1987, shortly after Melinda started working at Microsoft as a product manager, her first job after graduating from Duke University.
The pair ended up sitting next to each other at a business dinner and hit it off. Melinda, now 56, described her future husband in the Netflix documentary as "funny and very high-energy." But Bill didn't ask her out until a few months later, when they bumped into each other in the Microsoft parking lot. He asked her on a date -- in two weeks.
Melinda teased him for not being "spontaneous enough" and told him to call her closer to the date. A few hours later, he called her at home and asked her out for that night.
The couple met in 1987, shortly after Melinda started working at Microsoft as a product manager, her first job after graduating from Duke University. The pair ended up sitting next to each other at a..
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They married in 1994 and had three children. Before he popped the question, Melinda says she caught Bill weighing the decision by writing out the pros and cons of marriage on a white board.
The couple would go on to revolutionize the technology world: Bill through Microsoft software, Melinda through helping carve out space for women in the male-dominated industry. They launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
Their foundation is among the world's richest, having provided more than $54 billion in grants over two decades in areas including malaria and infectious disease control, agricultural research, basic health care and sanitation, in various parts of the world.
They married in 1994 and had three children. Before he popped the question, Melinda says she caught Bill weighing the decision by writing out the pros and cons of marriage on a white board. The coupl..
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The couple's divorce could create new questions about their wealth, most of which has yet to be donated to their foundation. Bill transitioned away from Microsoft in 2006 to focus more on philanthropy.
In 2010, he and Melinda, along with Warren Buffett, created the Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to charity. Initially, Bill wrote the foundation's annual newsletter, but Melinda asked to co-author it in 2013. Although they argued about the idea -- to the point that Melinda said in her 2019 memoir she thought their marriage would end because of it -- they ultimately compromised.
The 2013 letter included just a section by Melinda. They co-authored the letter the next year, but Bill wrote most of it. By 2015, it was a true joint venture.
The couple's divorce could create new questions about their wealth, most of which has yet to be donated to their foundation. Bill transitioned away from Microsoft in 2006 to focus more on philanthrop..
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Even after their divorce elements of that partnership may remain.
"We continue to share a belief in (our) mission and will continue our work together at the foundation," their statement said. "But we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives."
Even after their divorce elements of that partnership may remain."We continue to share a belief in (our) mission and will continue our work together at the foundation," their statement said. "But we ..
