Breakthrough Energy, an umbrella organization funded by Bill Gates that works on a sprawling range of climate issues, announced deep cuts to its operations in an internal memo Tuesday.
Dozens of staff members were cut, including Breakthrough Energy’s unit in Europe, its team in the United States working on public policy issues and most of its employees working on partnerships with other climate organizations, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The change shows how Gates is retooling his empire for the Trump era. With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, Gates calculated that the Breakthrough policy team in the United States was not likely to have a significant effect in Washington, the people familiar with his thinking said. The U.S. policy team was also one of the largest and most expensive parts of the organization.
“Bill Gates remains as committed as ever to advancing the clean energy innovations needed to address climate change,” a spokesperson for Gates said in a statement when asked about the cuts. “His work in this area will continue and is focused on helping drive reliable, affordable, clean energy solutions that will enable people everywhere to thrive.”
Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world, has poured billions of dollars from his own fortune into efforts to combat climate change. With books, public appearances and a high-profile campaign to support clean energy entrepreneurs over the past decade, he has established himself as one of the leading voices pushing businesses and governments to address the threats of a rapidly warming world.
Winding down much of the Breakthrough Energy team’s work is a sharp reversal for Gates and reflects a rapidly shifting landscape in politics, philanthropy, climate change and global development.
President Donald Trump is dismantling the federal government’s capacity to address climate change, and he is significantly cutting support for clean energy while promoting the consumption of gas, oil and coal, the burning of which is dangerously heating the planet.
Instead of trying to influence policy, Gates is now focused on building clean energy companies through the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst program, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Breakthrough Energy Fellows, the people familiar with the matter said. Those efforts, which fund startup companies and entrepreneurs working on a range of renewable technologies, were not affected by the cuts.
The emphasis on clean energy production could be in line with Trump’s interest in “American energy dominance.” Trump declared a “national energy emergency” on his first day in office, and his administration says it wants to expand American energy production at a moment when demand for electricity is rising sharply.
Gates, who resisted partisan politics for almost his entire career, was deeply concerned about the 2024 election and how a victory by Trump could set back progress on climate and global health. Gates donated about $50 million to a political nonprofit supporting Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
“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,” Gates told The New York Times last year. “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.”
After Trump’s win, Gates has tried to make amends. Like other tech billionaires, he traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a three-hour dinner during the transition period and said publicly he was “impressed” by Trump’s interest in his global-health priorities, although he did not say if they discussed climate change during the meeting.
But Gates has been caught off guard by Trump’s complete dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, which provided medical assistance to vulnerable people around the world, according to one person familiar with his thinking.
Gates’ foundation shares many grant recipients with USAID, and he has predicted “millions of deaths” if the cuts are not restored. Appeals have been made to Gates to try to use his foundation, which has a budget of almost $9 billion, to fill the vacuum being left by the aid agency, which disburses about $40 billion a year. But the foundation has warned its grant recipients that it cannot make up such a large gap.
But on climate change, Gates has not been as outspoken. Like other billionaires and chief executives who once spoke up loudly about climate change, Gates went silent in the face of Trump’s early efforts to reduce federal support for clean energy, promote fossil fuels and dismantle government programs.
aimed at addressing climate change.
Philanthropists and donors are concerned that Trump might come after their foundations. Gates has been viciously attacked by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest advisers.
The Gates Foundation has also reorganized its diversity, equity and inclusion team in recent weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter, precisely the type of work that Trump has in its crosshairs as a sign of liberal excess. Gates said last month that DEI programs had “gone too far at times.”
Gates’ personal life and philanthropy have seen some upheaval since his divorce from Melinda French Gates, who ran the foundation with him but stepped down from the post last year. Warren Buffett, the billionaire founder of Berkshire Hathaway who has worked closely with Gates on charitable efforts, resigned from the foundation in 2021
There had been recent signs of turmoil at Breakthrough Energy. Last month, Heatmap News reported that the group was slashing its grant-making budget. There were also a smaller number of staff cuts in recent months, including employees who ran the Breakthrough Energy Summit, a lavish event that took place last year in London. Breakthrough Energy is also looking for a new funding source for Cipher News, a clean energy news site it launched, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
In an essay describing how he became interested in climate change and why he founded Breakthrough Energy, Gates said that he hoped to accelerate the deployment of solutions.
“Climate change is already affecting most people’s lives, and when we think about the impact on our families and future generations, it can feel overwhelming,” he wrote. “The scale and speed of the transformation required to build a clean energy future is unprecedented.”.
