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Microsoft Pioneer Leaves $65M to Gay Rights Groups

Gates' high school pal leaves a record gift

By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 25, 2008 6:07 AM CST
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(Newser) – One of the first five Microsoft employees has left $65 million of his estate to gay rights groups, the Seattle Times reports. Ric Weiland, who helped high school friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen launch Microsoft, committed suicide in 2006 at age 53. His donation is believed to be the largest estate gift ever given to the country’s gay and lesbian community.

Weiland bequeathed $19 million to Seattle’s Pride Foundation to expand its work and another $46 million to 10 other organizations, including Lambda Legal Defense and Education Network, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Most of Weiland’s gifts are unrestricted, which will allow the groups to use the funds where they’re most needed. He also left an estimated $60 million to Stanford University.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gestures while speaking at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008. Ric Weiland, who left $65 million to gay rights groups, helped Gates and Paul Allen launch the company. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gestures while speaking at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008. Ric Weiland, who left $65 million to gay rights groups, helped Gates and Paul...   (Associated Press)
This 2004 photo of Ric Weiland released by the Pride Foundation of Seattle. The estate of Ric Weiland, a high school classmate of Microsoft Corp. founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen and one of the first five people to work at the software giant, has left US$65 million to gay...
This 2004 photo of Ric Weiland released by the Pride Foundation of Seattle. The estate of Ric Weiland, a high school classmate of Microsoft Corp. founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen and one of the first...   (Associated Press)
Greg Kimball, left, of Manchester, Mass., and his partner, Brian O'Connor, hug in this file photo as they celebrate after Massachusetts lawmakers voted to kill a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage at the Statehouse in Boston, June 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
Greg Kimball, left, of Manchester, Mass., and his partner, Brian O'Connor, hug in this file photo as they celebrate after Massachusetts lawmakers voted to kill a proposed constitutional amendment to ban...   (Associated Press)
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Related links

Pride Foundation official website
Pride Foundation

 
philanthropy • gay rights • Microsoft • AIDS • Bill Gates • Seattle • National Gay and Lesbian Task Force • Paul Allen • Ric Weiland • Pride Foundation • Lambda Legal • American Foundation for AIDS Research • bequest

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