The newly re-formed Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is both the largest foundation in the country and a symbol of the "fast-growing role of high technology and West Coast money in the world of American philanthropy," The New York Times reports.

The combining of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation has created a $17-billion organization that aims to have a serious impact in the education and global health fields.

But heading up that foundation and giving away the required $1 billion annually is proving to be no easy task for foundation co-chairman William H. Gates Jr., the Microsoft founder's father. But the elder gates told the New York Times that the work he does with the new foundation is "profoundly satisfying."

The foundation isn't his first foray into philanthropy. As a Seattle lawyer, Bill Gates Jr. has devoted time and money to charitable groups such as the United Way for years, the newspaper reports in its Sept. 12 edition.

It was only after a conversation with his son, though, that the retired Gates' philanthropic side kicked into a higher gear. Bill Gates III was expressing frustration over his lack of time to handle donation requests from charities. The elder Gates offered his help, the Times reports.

During the first few years as head of the William H. Gates Foundation, the father oversaw disbursement of about $225 million for health-related issues, vaccine distribution and research on a variety of causes.

The newly-formed foundation is expecting to soon pass Britain's Wellcome Trust as the largest philanthropic group on earth.

That is why the senior Gates and foundation co-chair Patty Stonesifer are looking for ways large foundations can compliment each other's work. They started the effort with a recent summit with the heads of 40 other foundations.

The Times reports that the summit was a signal the foundation is "making an effort not to rock the boat" by trying to work with other groups, instead of duplicating existing programs.

The senior Gates told the Times he keeps his son abreast of the foundation's operations, but he "tries to bother his son as little as possible."

Free registration may be required to view the full text of this article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/
biztech/articles/12gates.html