Bill and Melinda Gates answer ‘tough questions’ on Trump and charity in their annual letter

Bill and Melinda Gates have used their annual letter to answer what they call “tough questions” on the US president, the causes their foundation funds, and the motivation behind their giving.

On Trump, the founder of Microsoft wrote that “the America First worldview concerns me”, and the pair also said his proposed cuts to foreign aid would affect their charitable work.

Melinda added: “I wish our president would treat people, and especially women, with more respect when he speaks and tweets.”

The pair also reiterated that they do give money in the United States, mostly on education, and that they also give to environmental causes.

And they argued in favour of working with big corporations like GSK and Johnson & Johnson as they “can do things no one else can”, and are in a good position to help the foundation solve global health problems.

On the couple’s global wealth and influence, Melinda wrote: “It’s not fair that we have so much wealth when billions of others have so little.”

And on their motivations for giving away their vast sums of cash to charitable causes, the pair said it was a “basic responsibility of anyone with a lot of money”.

They also argued that saving children’s lives does not cause overpopulation.

“Parents have fewer children when they’re confident those children will survive into adulthood,” Melinda wrote.

“Big families are in some ways an insurance policy against the tragic likelihood of losing a son or a daughter.”

The letter can be read in full here.