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NEW YORK — Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money and pouring $375-million (U.S.) into a global effort to cut smoking.
The billionaire philanthropists, who have a combined worth of more than $70-billion, said Wednesday that the money from their foundations will go toward efforts in developing countries where tobacco use is highest. There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide.
The $250-million from Bloomberg Philanthropies and $125-million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support projects that raise tobacco taxes, help smokers quit, ban tobacco advertising and protect nonsmokers from exposure to smoke. It will also aid efforts to track tobacco use and better understand tobacco control strategies.
“Together we can make a clear, measurable difference – not just for ourselves and our generation but for the generations that come after us,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, left, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg take questions from the media at a press conference Wednesday announcing their charitable support for a global new anti-smoking initiative. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Gates made the announcement together at a news conference in Manhattan – an appearance that Mr. Gates noted was his first public event since ending his full-time tenure at Microsoft Corp. to spend more time at his foundation. He also hinted it might be just the first of “many things” he and Mr. Bloomberg will do together.
The Gates foundation has until now focused most of its world health dollars on fighting malaria, AIDS and other diseases. The anti-tobacco campaign represents a new direction for the Seattle-based organization, which since 2006 has also been charged with giving away billions from investor Warren Buffett.
Because of strings the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. founder attached to the money, the world's largest charitable foundation is now broadening its reach, most notably into agriculture development.
Mr. Bloomberg, a former smoker who quit about 30 years ago, has made anti-smoking one of his crusades as a public official. In his first term he banned smoking in bars and restaurants and his health department has an aggressive, ongoing campaign to help New Yorkers kick the habit.
The former CEO, who built his fortune from the financial information company he founded in the 1980s, planted the first seed of this campaign in 2006 when he announced he was putting $125-million toward combatting tobacco use worldwide.
That money has gone toward tobacco-fighting campaigns in countries including China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Bangladesh. In most cases, the Bloomberg foundation has funded local non-governmental organizations to do the work on the ground.
When Bloomberg announced the gift in 2006, he said at the time that he believed smoking was a public health cause that was largely ignored by philanthropists. He said he hoped publicizing the issue would bring in more attention from other major foundations.
Mr. Gates said Wednesday that $24-million of his gift will go directly toward Mr. Bloomberg's efforts that are already under way.
The remaining money will be used by his foundation to begin its own anti-tobacco work, including a focus on preventing tobacco use from increasing in Africa.
“The epidemic in Africa is not well advanced, and that means that we can catch it at an early stage,” Mr. Gates said.
