Editing Bill Gates (section)

== Political positions ==
In October 2024, ''The New York Times'' reported Gates had recently donated $50 million to Future Forward USA Action, a [[501(c) organization|501(c)(4)]] organization supporting [[Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign|Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign]]. In response to the report, he did not explicitly address the donation or endorse Harris, but said "this election is different."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schleifer |first=Theodore |date=October 22, 2024 |title=Bill Gates Privately Says He Has Backed Harris With $50 Million Donation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/elections/bill-gates-future-forward-kamala-harris.html |access-date=October 22, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

=== Regulation of the software industry ===
{{Further|Bill Gates#Antitrust litigation|United States v. Microsoft Corp.}}

In 1998, Gates rejected the need for regulation of the software industry in testimony before the United States Senate.<ref name=mzyf /> During the [[Federal Trade Commission]]'s (FTC) investigation of Microsoft in the 1990s, Gates was reportedly upset at then Commissioner [[Dennis Yao]] for "float[ing] a line of hypothetical questions suggesting possible curbs on Microsoft's growing monopoly power". According to one source:

{{blockquote|Gates was vexed. "He started by calling Yao's ideas socialistic," recalls a source familiar with the July 15 meeting, "and as he got angrier and angrier and louder and louder, he got into calling them Communistic."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Stuart Jr.|date=November 1, 1993|title=What To Do With The Microsoft Monster|url=https://www.stuarttaylorjr.com/content-what-do-microsoft-monster/|access-date=2021-09-11|website=The American Lawyer|language=en-US|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023010716/https://www.stuarttaylorjr.com/content-what-do-microsoft-monster/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== Donald Trump Facebook ban ===
After [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] had banned [[Donald Trump]] from their platforms on February 18, 2021, as a result of the [[2020 United States presidential election]] which led to the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], Gates said a permanent ban of Trump "would be a shame" and would be an "extreme measure". He warned that it would cause "polarization" if users with different political views divide up among various social networks, and said: "I don't think banning somebody who actually did get a fair number of votes (in the presidential election) – well less than a majority – {{Sic|hide=y|but I don't think having him off<!-- [[Double negative]]; doubt already expressed. -->}} forever would be that good."<ref name="mzyf">{{cite news |last1=Zahn |first1=Max |last2=Serwer |first2=Andy |date=February 18, 2021 |title=Bill Gates: Permanent Facebook ban of Trump would be 'a shame' |url=https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/bill-gates-permanent-facebook-ban-of-trump-would-be-a-shame-185859851.html |publisher=[[Yahoo! Finance]] |access-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016001946/https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/bill-gates-permanent-facebook-ban-of-trump-would-be-a-shame-185859851.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Patents for COVID-19 vaccines ===
{{Main|TRIPS Agreement waiver}}

In April 2021, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Gates was criticized for suggesting that pharmaceutical companies should hold onto patents for [[COVID-19 vaccines]]. The criticism came due to the possibility of this preventing poorer nations from obtaining adequate vaccines. Tara Van Ho of the [[University of Essex]] stated, "Gates speaks as if all the lives being lost in India are inevitable but eventually the West will help when in reality the US & UK are holding their feet on the neck of developing states by refusing to break [intellectual property rights] protections. It's disgusting."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bill-gates-covid-vaccines-countries-b1837884.html|title=Bill Gates under fire for saying vaccine formulas shouldn't be shared with developing world|last=Kilander|first=Gustaf|date=April 26, 2021|website=[[The Independent]]|location=Washington, D.C.|publication-place=London|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2021|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426202507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bill-gates-covid-vaccines-countries-b1837884.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates is opposed to the [[TRIPS waiver]].<ref name="observer">{{cite news |last1=Cao |first1=Sissi |title=Bill Gates' Comments On COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Draw Outrage |url=https://observer.com/2021/04/bill-gates-oppose-lifting-covid-vaccine-patent-interview/ |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=Observer |date=April 28, 2021 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102050002/https://observer.com/2021/04/bill-gates-oppose-lifting-covid-vaccine-patent-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="apartheid">{{cite news |last1=Allison |first1=Simon |title=Bill Gates, Big Pharma and entrenching the vaccine apartheid |url=https://mg.co.za/coronavirus-essentials/2021-01-30-bill-gates-big-pharma-and-entrenching-the-vaccine-apartheid/ |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=The Mail & Guardian |date=January 30, 2021 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102050004/https://mg.co.za/coronavirus-essentials/2021-01-30-bill-gates-big-pharma-and-entrenching-the-vaccine-apartheid/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=colonialism>{{cite news |last1=Mookim |first1=Mohit |title=The World Loses Under Bill Gates' Vaccine Colonialism |url=https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-world-loses-under-bill-gates-vaccine-colonialism/ |access-date=January 2, 2022 |magazine=Wired |date=May 19, 2021 |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224153605/https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-world-loses-under-bill-gates-vaccine-colonialism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bloomberg News]] reported him as saying he argued that Oxford University should not give away the rights to its COVID-19 information, as it had announced, but instead sell it to a single industry partner, as it did.<ref name="oxford_pledge">{{cite news |last1=Hancock |first1=Jay |title=They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma |url=https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/ |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=Kaiser Health News |date=August 25, 2020 |archive-date=February 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207230036/https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His views on the value of [[government-granted monopoly|legal monopolies]] in medicine have been linked to his views on legal monopolies in software.<ref name="apartheid" /><ref name=colonialism />

=== Cryptocurrencies ===
Gates has been critical of [[cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] like [[Bitcoin]]. According to him, cryptocurrencies provide no "valuable output", contribute nothing to society, and pose a danger especially for smaller investors who could not survive the potentially high losses. Gates also does not own any cryptocurrencies himself.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency|title=Bill Gates explains why he doesn't own any cryptocurrency|access-date=May 22, 2022|date=May 19, 2022|magazine=[[Forbes]]|author=Rachel Sandler|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519183113/https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency|url-status=live}}</ref>