Bill Gates says he’s in a race against climate change. It’s an all-out effort, like a world war, but it’s us against greenhouse gases. And unlike a lot of billionaires, he is actually trying. But there’s something strange about the climate footprint of the world’s most famous green philanthropist. Behind the breakthroughs, Gates also holds major stakes in coal, oil, private jets, and the transport networks moving some of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. And these are making him hundreds of millions of dollars every year. So let’s take a look at how Bill Gates is playing both sides of the climate crisis.
Gates’ Climate Efforts (The Solution):
Bill Gates has a plan to save the world from a climate catastrophe. And to be fair, it’s more ambitious than most. He’s the founder of Breakthrough Energy, a network of venture funds, philanthropic initiatives, and lobbying arms. Breakthrough invests in dozens of startups trying to decarbonize the hardest sectors. Cement, steel, aviation, agriculture, energy storage, as well as the production of renewable energy.
Fervo Energy is one of Breakthrough’s poster children. They’re turning Utah into a testbed for advanced geothermal energy. It takes drilling methods from oil and gas, known as fracking, and repurposes them to tap previously unreachable underground heat. Of course, fracking has a damaging legacy. It’s been linked to groundwater contamination, methane leaks, and even earthquakes. And while Fervo isn’t extracting oil or gas, they are using the same techniques. Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures is the lead funder in Fervo’s latest investment round.
Gates is also one of the loudest voices backing direct air capture. That’s pulling CO2 out of the air with industrial vacuums. I’m paying a company that can pull a bit of carbon out of the air and stick it underground. It’s costing like $400 a tonne. It’s like $7 million. So you’re paying $7 million a year to offset your carbon footprint? Yep. Offsetting is one way that billionaires manage their climate image. But if you follow the money and not the messaging, a different story starts to emerge.
Fossil Fuel & Dirty Investments (The Hypocrisy):
In an attempt to prove himself as the climate-conscious billionaire and promote his 2021 New York Times bestselling book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Gates announced that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had divested all its direct holdings in oil and gas companies as of 2019. This got a lot of positive coverage.
But by the time his book was published in 2021, the foundation still held hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas stocks and bonds. And since the divestment pledge, the Trust’s fossil fuel investments haven’t just grown, they’ve seemingly been expanded.
As you can see in the foundation’s 2019 tax filings, the Trust recorded a $5.6 million stock investment in Glencore, a major producer and marketer of coal. As of 2023, the stake had increased to $16.2 million. Its stake in Impex, a Japanese oil company, also jumped from $84 million to $122 million in 2023, even though the stock value had barely increased, suggesting they bought more. And as of November 2024, the foundation had $23 million in stocks in BP, formerly British Petroleum, and $8.4 million in bonds in Occidental Petroleum.
High-Carbon Lifestyle & Holdings:
Bill Gates’ fossil fuel investments aren’t his only climate hypocrisy. His lifestyle tells a similar story. Let’s start with his favorite way to fly. Private. In 2022, he reportedly took 392 flights. That’s more than one per day. That’s an estimated 1,600 tons of CO2 in one year. For comparison, the global average is under five tons per person.
But instead of flying less or even taking commercial flights, Gates has actually invested in the industry. Through his private investment firm, Cascade Investment, Gates owns nearly a fifth of Signature Aviation, the world’s largest private jet operator, which markets itself as carbon neutral, but relies heavily on carbon offsets from a dubious project that captures methane from a closed coal mine.
There’s his involvement in Berkshire Hathaway, the trillion-dollar conglomerate that holds Warren Buffett’s personal fortune. It owns everything from insurance companies and railroads to massive utility firms and energy companies. The Gates Foundation owns about 17 million shares in Berkshire, currently worth nearly $7 billion. Berkshire operates the 12 dirtiest coal plants in the US. Research from 2022 found that Berkshire ranked fourth amongst the top CO2-emitting companies from any industry in the US. In 2023 alone, those plants emitted more toxic nitrogen oxides, poisonous gases, and key components of smog and haze than any other utility in the country. An investigation from Reuters says that these emissions are linked to 260 premature deaths per year. In a response to Reuters, Berkshire said its electrical utilities operate their local plants in full compliance with state and federal environmental laws, regulations, and requirements.
Another surprising investment from the world’s green philanthropist is in the Canadian National Railway, of which Gates’ private investment firm, Cascade Investment, owns 9%. It’s the largest railway company in Canada, and it plays a major role in transporting oil, specifically tar sands oil. Tar sands are a form of heavy crude found under the forests of Alberta. The extraction process is brutal. Trees are cleared, wetlands destroyed, and producing it releases 14 % more greenhouse gases than conventional crude.
So while Gates talks about decarbonizing the energy system, his foundation is quietly investing in a company that helps keep one of the dirtiest fossil fuel industries on track, literally.
Conclusion:
Bill Gates is walking a fine line between climate advocacy and profit from fossil fuels, private jets, and high-carbon industries. While he invests in green technologies and promotes decarbonization, his financial interests in polluting sectors reveal a complex mix of activism and self-interest, showing that even climate champions can benefit from the very problems they aim to solve.
FAQs:
1. How does Bill Gates invest in climate solutions?
He funds startups through Breakthrough Energy, focused on decarbonizing industries like energy, steel, and agriculture.
2. Does Gates still invest in fossil fuels?
Yes, he holds significant stakes in oil, coal, and companies like BP and Occidental Petroleum.
3. What is Gates’ high-carbon lifestyle?
He frequently flies private jets and owns shares in Signature Aviation, contributing to substantial CO2 emissions.
4. How does Gates profit from fossil fuel transport?
His investments include Canadian National Railway and Berkshire Hathaway, which transport and operate high-emission energy sources.
5. Is Gates’ philanthropy fully green?
Not entirely; while he promotes renewable energy and carbon capture, his investments in polluting industries complicate his climate image.
6. Why is Gates’ approach controversial?
Because he profits from both solutions and the problems they aim to solve, raising questions about conflict of interest and true impact.
