The 2013 Lasker-Bloomberg Award for Public Service recognizes the extraordinary impact made by Bill and Melinda Gates toward improving global public health through the work of their foundation. Bill Gates made his fortune as one of the giants of the modern computer industry; today he and his wife Melinda may be equally well known for their worldwide work in philanthropy. Founded in 2000, the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation is now the largest private foundation in the U.S. (1). The foundation has provided more than $26 billion in grant funding for all of its programs since inception and in recent years has invested nearly $2 billion annually for global health projects alone (2). What started as a simple desire to help those less fortunate blossomed into a bold organization, willing to take on seemingly insurmountable public health challenges.
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