Bill Gates has long invested in vaccine development through his foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Does Bill Gates profit from vaccines? He once put forward the answer in 2019.
At that time, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Bill Gates did mention that investments made in global health organizations aimed at increasing access to vaccines created economic gains of up to 1 in 20.
In the last 2 decades, the Bill Gates foundation has donated around USD 10 billion mainly to 3 groups, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
"We feel there is a return of more than 20 to one, making $200 billion in about 20 years," he said. USD 200 billion .
Investments in vaccines and health have helped children stay alive, get proper nutrition, and contribute to their respective countries.
However, it should be noted that the USD 200 billion did not go into the Microsoft founder's pocket. In that interview, if seen in all his broadcasts, Bill Gates is not talking about personal benefits but the benefits that society gets if vaccinated.
Bill Gates is not talking about personal gain, but rather that investing in healthcare will yield multiple benefits to society, even when compared to investing in other important things.
"What if we invest in developing country energy projects? The payoff is USD 150 billion. Infrastructure? USD 170 billion. With investment in global health institutions, we go beyond all that. The USD 10 billion we give to provide vaccines, drugs, beds and other supplies in developing countries are estimated to bring about $200 billion worth of social and economic benefits," Gates wrote on his blog.
That calculation is not Gates's calculation, but the Copenhagen Consensus Center. David Lessman, a spokesman for the agency, said the post about Bill Gates making big profits from investments into vaccine production is not true.
He explained that the ROI or return on investment is related to the calculation of health costs that may decrease due to vaccines or social benefits because residents do not get sick or die.
"None of these measurements relate to Mr Bill Gates or any other contributor to the fund," he said. So Bill Gates profiting from vaccines in huge numbers is a false narrative, at least in the past.
