George W. Bush is now the only living president who has not endorsed any presidential candidate in this election cycle. I’m at the point now where I’m just like… there are certain people who we do not need to hear from, right? I remember the Bush years and they were awful. Well, I sort of feel the same way about Bill Gates. Bill’s ex-wife Melinda French Gates endorsed Kamala Harris over the summer and announced she was donating millions to the Harris campaign and to various super PACs involved in reproductive rights (French Gates is also donating $1 billion to women’s and girls’ health issues). Melinda is the one who has authenticity here, not her ex-husband. But Bill Gates wants credit for supporting Kamala Harris too, and for quietly donating $50 million to Future Forward super PAC.

After decades of sitting on the sidelines of politics, Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world, has said privately that he recently donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organization that is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential run, according to three people briefed on the matter. The donation was meant to stay under wraps. Mr. Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft, has not publicly endorsed Ms. Harris, and his donation would represent a significant change in the strategy that has previously kept him away from gifts like this.

In private calls this year to friends and others, Mr. Gates has expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like, according to a person briefed on Mr. Gates’s thinking, although he has stressed that he could work with either candidate. Mr. Gates does not have a deep relationship with Ms. Harris, but he has celebrated the Biden-Harris administration’s work on climate change. Mr. Gates’s philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is significantly concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if Mr. Trump is elected, according to two people close to the foundation.

Mr. Gates has said he made his donation to Future Forward, the main outside fund-raising group supporting Ms. Harris, according to the people briefed on the matter. Mr. Gates has talked about his pro-Harris donation with his peers, including Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and a major supporter of Future Forward who has considered a similarly sized gift, two of the people briefed said. Mr. Gates’s donation went specifically to Future Forward’s nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, which as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” organization does not disclose its donors, according to the people briefed. So any contribution by Mr. Gates will never appear on any public filing.

In a statement in response to this reporting, Mr. Gates did not explicitly address the donation or offer an endorsement of Ms. Harris in the race. He stressed his bipartisanship — but also said that “this election is different.”

“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” he told The New York Times. “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”

[From The NY Times]

As I said, Melinda’s full-throated endorsement of Kamala Harris (after she also endorsed Joe Biden earlier in the cycle) means a lot more to me, as does Melinda’s focus on reproductive rights and women’s rights. While every little bit counts, I find it interesting that men like Bill Gates and Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan’s CEO) are coming out this late in the game to quietly-but-not-really endorse VP Harris. It feels like Gates and Dimon both think VP Harris is going to win and that’s why they feel safe putting out these stories, two weeks from Election Day.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.