Bill Gates’s philanthropy holds tens of millions of dollars’ worth of stock in corporations the Department of Defense designated as “Chinese military companies,” according to a Washington Examiner analysis of tax records.
The Gates Foundation Trust, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing the endowment of the Microsoft co-founder’s foundation, held nearly $60 million in equity across three different entities that appear on the Pentagon’s 1260h list, according to the most recent available tax documents. Gates is directly responsible for the investing behavior of his foundation as he serves as CEO and trustee of the charitable fund.
The DOD’s 1260h list is updated every fiscal year and contains the names of entities the federal government has determined are “directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or beneficially owned by” the Chinese military, as well as those that otherwise partner with the People’s Liberation Army.
In addition to the tens of millions of dollars in stock the Gates Foundation holds in Pentagon-designated Chinese military companies, it holds tens of millions of dollars more in stock issued by Chinese state-owned enterprises and corporations closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Tencent represents the Gates Foundation’s largest holding among Chinese military companies, with the charitable trust possessing roughly $53 million worth of its stock. Tencent co-founder and CEO Ma Huateng is a member of the CCP who served two terms as part of China’s National People’s Congress. In 2023, the CCP moved to acquire “golden shares” in Tencent. These shares are relatively small ownership stakes that, by Chinese law, grant the government control over key business decisions.
The tech conglomerate reportedly collaborated with the Chinese government to censor dissident viewpoints and plays a prominent role in the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure project run by the CCP that some experts argue is a tool for Beijing to build its soft power abroad.
The Gates Foundation is no stranger to assisting the Chinese government in attaining its goals.
Gates’s charity has wired tens of millions of dollars to Chinese government agencies, state-run universities, and Chinese military companies, the Washington Examiner previously reported.
Recipients of Gates’s funds have included the Chinese Development Research Foundation, the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s National Health Commission, and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. Several of the entities have been criticized by U.S. lawmakers for working to undermine U.S. interests. For example, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has caught flak for its involvement in industrial espionage, while the National Health Commission has faced criticism for allegedly concealing information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the Chinese universities funded by Gates host high-level military labs.
Beijing and Gates have historically been cordial with one another. Chinese President Xi Jinping called the Microsoft co-founder an “old friend” in June 2023. Gates, for his part, said in January 2023 that “China’s rise” is “a huge win for the world.”
In its most recent tax forms, the Gates Foundation disclosed a $2 million payment and $2.1 million earmarked for future disbursements to the Chinese rail company CRRC. The rail company appears on the Pentagon’s list of Chinese military companies and is unique in that the Gates Foundation also holds a roughly $1.7 million equity stake in its subsidiary, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric.
The Gates Foundation owns an additional $3.6 million worth of stock in Contemporary Amperex Technology, better known as CATL. Zeng Yuqun, founder and CEO of CATL, previously worked on the body overseeing the CCP’s United Front, a network of entities working to expand China’s global influence over commercial and civil life. The CCP appears to favor CATL, showering it with billions of dollars in subsidies and tax abatements while granting it preferential access to government contracts and entering into strategic partnerships with it.
A number of left-of-center nonprofit organizations operating out of the United States have links to the Chinese government. Some, such as the Energy Foundation, Natural Resource Defense Council, and the Nature Conservancy, have former CCP officials on staff in high-ranking positions. Others, such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation, send millions of dollars overseas each year to assist the Chinese government in achieving its agenda. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund focuses on supporting China’s energy infrastructure, while the Ford Foundation has waded into funding Belt and Road Initiative programs.
The Gates Foundation’s Chinese holdings are not limited to corporations that the Pentagon has singled out for military ties. The philanthropy, for instance, holds a nearly $40 million interest in China Resources Beer, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Resources Holdings. Gates’s charity owns tens of millions of dollars in other state-owned enterprises, ranging from construction firms to automobile manufacturers.
CCP-LINKED FIRMS RAMP UP LOBBYING ACTIVITY, TAP TRUMP-ADJACENT OPERATIVES
Additionally, the charity holds roughly $50.4 million in Alibaba stock. The Chinese e-commerce giant, like Tencent, has sold golden shares to the CCP, has reportedly developed propaganda tools for the government, supports the Belt and Road initiative, and has been extensively subsidized by Beijing.
The Gates Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.