Bill, Melinda Gates Top Philanthropist List in Barron’s Ranking
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Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda topped a Barron’s list of the world’s 25 best philanthropists, surpassing last year’s selections Pam and Pierre Omidyar.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation rose to No. 1 after the billionaire couple joined forces with Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., to create and promote the Gates-Buffett pledge in which people donate 50 percent or more of their net worth to charity, the weekly newspaper said in its Dec. 6 edition. Gates’ ranked 7th in 2009 because their investments in medical research could take more than a decade to see results, Barron’s said.