What check size does Bill Gates write?

Bill Gates typically writes checks of $500K – $50M.

What companies has Bill Gates invested in?

Investments tracked here include Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Where did Bill Gates go to school?

Bill Gates studied at Harvard University; Lakeside School.

What awards has Bill Gates received?

Gates received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded jointly to him and Melinda French Gates in 2016 for their philanthropic work. Time magazine named Gates one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century in 1999. Gates received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Gates was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Gates received the Padma Bhushan. Gates received the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award.

What podcasts and interviews feature Bill Gates?

Tracked appearances include "Bill Gates on vaccine hesitancy, AI and global health | The Conversation", "Bill Gates, Chair of the Board, Breakthrough Energy Ventures".

Does Bill Gates lead rounds?

Yes — Bill Gates has led 1 tracked investment.

Bill Gates

Investor

Founder, Breakthrough Energy at Breakthrough Energy Ventures · Founder at 75F

Medina, WA

Writes $500K – $50M checks · typically $25K

About

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 and ran it as CEO until 2000, making it the dominant software company of the PC era and himself the world's richest person for much of the 1990s and 2000s. He now chairs the Gates Foundation, the largest private foundation in the world, and founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures to fund deep-decarbonisation technology that conventional venture capital will not touch.

Invests in

AgTechClimate TechDeep TechEnergyFoodTechHardwareMobility & Transportation

Beyond investing

Founded: Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with childhood friend Paul Allen. At age 17, Gates formed a venture with Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data to make traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor. Gates founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a billion-dollar climate fund launched in 2017 to finance low-carbon energy technology.
Education: Studied at Lakeside School Studied at Harvard University (1973)
Charities: Gates and his then-wife Melinda French Gates co-chaired the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization, from 2000 until 2024. In 2010, Gates and Warren Buffett founded the Giving Pledge, whereby billionaires pledge to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy.
Awards: Gates received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded jointly to him and Melinda French Gates in 2016 for their philanthropic work. Time magazine named Gates one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century in 1999. Gates received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Gates was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Gates received the Padma Bhushan. Gates received the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award. Gates received the J. William Fulbright Prize. Gates received the NAS Public Welfare Medal. Gates received the Commander of the Legion of Honour. Gates received the Order of the Aztec Eagle. Gates received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. Gates was named Financial Times Person of the Year. Gates received the United Nations Population Award. Gates received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.
Family: Gates is the son of lawyer Bill Gates Sr. and Mary Maxwell Gates, and has three children including Phoebe.

From Bill's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Founder at 75F

Intro paths

→

In turn, Bill can intro founders to 75F's investors below.

75F's investors · 8

Breakthrough Energy VenturesBoston · $500K – $50M checks · since 2021 Building VenturesBoston · $100K – $10M checks · since 2021 Climate InvestmentLondon · since 2021 Evergreen Climate InnovationsChicago · since 2021 Next47Palo Alto · since 2021 RevolutionWashington, D.C. · $100K – $1M checks · since 2021 Rise of the Rest SeedWashington · since 2021 WIND VenturesSan Francisco Bay Area · since 2021

Co-founders at 75F

Deepinder SinghExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

Gates FoundationCo-chaircurrent2000 — present
Breakthrough EnergyFoundercurrent2015 — present
MicrosoftCo-foundercurrent1975 — present

Investments

Led

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Per curated public sources.

Podcasts & interviews

featuring Bill Gates

Bill Gates on vaccine hesitancy, AI and global health | The Conversation

POLITICO

Bill Gates, Chair of the Board, Breakthrough Energy Ventures

The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Colleagues at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Alice Jackson

Head of Grid Modeling at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Allegra Kowalewski-Ferreira

Investor at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Ben Gaddy

Breakthrough Energy Discovery at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Bhargavi Chevva

Investor at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Brenda Haendler

Breakthrough Energy Discovery at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Brian Mayers

Breakthrough Energy Ventures at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Carmichael Roberts

Investor at Material Impact

Chris Poirier

Breakthrough Energy Ventures at Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Network12

Reid HoffmanScout

Co-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at Greylock

Marc BenioffScout

Co-founder, Chair & CEO of Salesforce

Ali PartoviScout

CEO at Neo

Andrew ChungScout

Investor at 1955 Capital

Aymeric SallinScout

Founder and CEO at +ND Capital

Benjamin BoyerScout

Partner at Tenaya Capital

Josh WolfeScout

Partner and Co-Founder at Lux Capital

Steve OskouiScout

A Stanford student and self-described entrepreneur (personal site last updated in 2000)

Bruce Booth

Partner at Atlas Venture

Eric Schmidt

Founding Partner at Innovation Endeavors

Laura Stoppel

Partner at RA Capital

Peter Kolchinsky

Managing Partner at RA Capital

Investors connected to Bill in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Bill Gates?: Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 and ran it as CEO until 2000, making it the dominant software company of the PC era and himself the world's richest person for much of the 1990s and 2000s. He now chairs the Gates Foundation, the largest private foundation in the world, and founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures to fund deep-decarbonisation technology that conventional venture capital will not touch.
Where does Bill Gates work?: Bill Gates is Founder, Breakthrough Energy at Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
What does Bill Gates invest in?: Bill Gates invests in AgTech, Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Energy, FoodTech, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation.
What check size does Bill Gates write?: Bill Gates typically writes checks of $500K – $50M.
What companies has Bill Gates invested in?: Investments tracked here include Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Where did Bill Gates go to school?: Bill Gates studied at Harvard University; Lakeside School.
What awards has Bill Gates received?: Gates received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded jointly to him and Melinda French Gates in 2016 for their philanthropic work. Time magazine named Gates one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century in 1999. Gates received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Gates was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Gates received the Padma Bhushan. Gates received the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award.
What podcasts and interviews feature Bill Gates?: Tracked appearances include "Bill Gates on vaccine hesitancy, AI and global health | The Conversation", "Bill Gates, Chair of the Board, Breakthrough Energy Ventures".
Does Bill Gates lead rounds?: Yes — Bill Gates has led 1 tracked investment.