Bill Gates repays University of Washington with record $540 million gift

Bill Gates never studied at the University of Washington, but the school paid him $500 as a teenager and gave him precious access to computers. Five decades and many billions later, the Microsoft co-founder is returning the favor with a record $540 million commitment to the same university.

The extraordinary full-circle story links Gates' teenage fascination with computers to one of the biggest philanthropic gifts in the University of Washington's history.

Gates' unexpected connection to the University of Washington

Gates was still in high school in the early 1970s when he landed a $500 contract to help computerize UW's class-enrollment system, with help from his older sister Kristi, who was involved in student government at the time. But the money was arguably less important than what the opportunity gave him: access to computers at a time when they were still a rarity.

Four UW faculty members had founded Computer Center Corporation, known as C-Cubed, and allowed Gates and his friend Paul Allen free time on a PDP-10 computer in exchange for helping find bugs in the system.

Gates took full advantage of the opportunity. He later recalled waiting until his parents were asleep, leaving home and heading to UW's Physics building around 3 a.m. to use another PDP-10 during the few hours it sat idle.

The $540 million gift brings the relationship full circle

Now, more than half a century later, Gates' foundation is giving UW $540 million over 10 years. The commitment is the largest grant in the university's history and will go to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent research unit at UW.

The institute will use the funding to expand its Global Burden of Disease study, which tracks deaths, illnesses, disabilities, injuries and health risks worldwide. IHME currently provides health estimates for roughly 925 locations. The new funding is expected to help expand that reach to nearly 5,000 locations.

Why Gates is backing IHME

The investment is ultimately about making global health spending more effective. Tracking where diseases are worsening, where health is improving and whether funding is reaching the populations that need it most can help policymakers make better decisions.

Reliable and independent evidence can mean the difference between reacting to a health crisis after it has taken hold and acting early enough to change its course, said Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray, IHME director.

He added, This investment will allow us to provide high-quality evidence at a much more local level and help leaders understand not only where health is improving or worsening, but which decisions can make the greatest difference for people.

Gates' family also has deep UW ties

Although Gates never attended UW, the university has long been closely connected to his family. His father, Bill Gates Sr., his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, and his sisters Kristi and Libby all attended the university.

That makes the relationship more personal than a typical philanthropic connection. Still, Gates' own teenage experiences at UW appear to have played a particularly important role in his early development as a computer enthusiast.

This isn't Gates' first major gift to UW

The $540 million commitment is the latest in a decades-long pattern of giving. In 1991, Gates personally gave UW $12 million to establish its Department of Molecular Biotechnology. At the time, it was described as the largest single commitment from an individual in the university's history.

In 2007, the Gates Foundation committed $105 million to help establish IHME, alongside $20 million from UW. Then, in 2017, the foundation announced another $279 million over 10 years for the institute. The latest $540 million commitment is now the biggest of them all.