‘Epic Scandal’: Bill Gates Donated Hundreds Of Millions To NIH To Influence Research Priorities That Benefited His Foundation

‘Epic Scandal’: Bill Gates Donated Hundreds Of Millions To NIH To Influence Research Priorities That Benefited His Foundation

Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

Bill Gates used his wealth and influence to partner with key National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials in an attempt to steer NIH research toward priorities favored by Gates and the Gates Foundation, an NIH whistleblower alleges.

As Gates cultivated these ties, the NIH, under the leadership of Drs. Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci gave Gates the red-carpet treatment at NIH events, the whistleblower alleged.

RealClearInvestigations and The Disinformation Chronicle published the allegations on Tuesday. The whistleblower, a former NIH official, asked to remain anonymous.

Illustrating the extent of Gates’ influence, the whistleblower told The Disinformation Chronicle that the combined funding of Gates and the NIH represents “57% of global health R&D” — or research and development.

“If you’re a researcher complaining about the two entities that control over half of the funding for public health, where do you then go to get funding for public health?” The Disinformation Chronicle wrote in a follow-up post today.

Paul D. Thacker, who authored the report for both outlets, said documents shared by the whistleblower show that Gates used his wealth to curry influence at NIH.

“What I found so interesting when reporting this piece is how nobody wanted to speak on the record,” Thacker said. “Nobody wants to get in crossways with either NIH or Gates by criticizing their cozy relationship.”

The whistleblower produced evidence of NIH-Gates partnerships in Africa to promote vaccines for Ebola and other diseases — partnerships that originated after substantial financial contributions by the Gates Foundation to the NIH.

According to the whistleblower, the partnerships also involved alleged conflicts of interest with McKinsey & Company, a private consulting firm that advised pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers while working with Gates and the NIH to promote vaccines in Africa.

The allegations follow the Trump administration’s announcement last week that it would reengage with the Gates-linked Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, one year after ending its funding of the organization. The Gates Foundation funded Gavi’s launch in 1999 and holds a permanent seat on its board.

Gates testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight, as part of its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. He told the committee that Epstein tried to use information about his marital infidelities to pressure him to “re-engage with him.”

Revelations contained in the Epstein Files showed that Gates and Epstein worked to finance “pandemic preparedness” initiatives and online research platforms to help influence scientific research.

Jeffrey Tucker, president and founder of the Brownstone Institute, said the whistleblower’s allegations are a “rare example of a fully documented case of agency capture.”

“Bill Gates had zero training in virology and no understanding. And yet he bought influence at NIH that fit with his investment interests,” Tucker said. “Thacker’s investigative reporting here is not only a bombshell, it reveals an epic scandal stretching back decades.”

According to Thacker’s report, the Gates Foundation has donated “hundreds of millions of dollars” to NIH in the last 25 years, allowing the billionaire “to shape the direction of the country’s health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.”

Gates Foundation donations led to partnerships with “high-ranking NIH officials to steer taxpayer research funding and design scientific policies for several federal programs.”

The partnerships began soon after the Gates Foundation (then the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) was established in 2000 with an initial $20 billion endowment.

“Rather than working exclusively through non-governmental agencies, the Gates Foundation began contributing to the NIH through the agency’s own nonprofit, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH),” Thacker reported.

In 2003, the Gates Foundation launched its relationship with the FNIH by means of a $200 million donation, intended to fund NIH scientific programs. Thacker described this as “an unprecedented sum,” citing warnings by scientists and researchers that the donations were shifting the NIH’s research priorities.

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