TEMPO.CO, Singapore - The Gates Foundation is set to open a branch office in Singapore, marking its 12th global office and its first in Southeast Asia.
The announcement was made by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates during the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025 held in Singapore on Monday, May 5, 2025.
“The Gates Foundation is putting an office here – to access the science, to partner with the philanthropic community,” said Gates.
Founded in 2000 in Seattle, United States, by Bill Gates and his former wife Melinda, the Gates Foundation is currently the third-largest charitable foundation in the world, following the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Denmark and Tata Trusts in India.
The foundation has been involved in initiatives related to healthcare and poverty alleviation. By the end of 2023, it had disbursed more than US$7.7 billion, or approximately Rp126.6 trillion.
Gates, who is 69 years old, will be in Singapore on May 5 and 6, 2025. During his visit, he is scheduled to meet with several top government officials and researchers from Breakthrough Energy, his climate-focused initiative.
At the summit, Gates appeared alongside Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and emphasized the region’s contributions to global health progress.
“I would say that Asian innovation is a part of why I am so excited about the progress we can make in health. Initially, when we thought of Asian innovation, we mostly thought about low cost – which is a great thing,” Gates said in his dialogue with the President, as quoted from The Strait Times.
He also praised the cultural values he observed in the region. Gates noted that Singaporeans and Southeast Asians are deeply family-oriented and remarked that he has observed a growing trend in family philanthropy, where families collaborate on initiatives that go beyond their personal or household interests.
He expressed his enthusiasm for learning more about this development.
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