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November 16, 2009, 06:24 PM ET
Criticism of Gates Foundation Headquarters
Does the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation need a $500-million headquarters?
Robert Frank, who writes The Wealth Report, a Wall Street Journal blog, raises this question, pointing out that comparable Seattle businesses have spent far less.
The price tag for the new Gates headquarters “is more than three times what nearby Russell Investments paid for its 42-story headquarters tower to house its staff of 900 and manage more than $200-billion in assets.”
He says that Mr. Gates is the greatest American philanthropist since John D. Rockefeller Jr. and notes that the Gateses recently donated $350-million to pay for the facility. But still he wonders if the money wouldn’t be better spent on charitable programs.
The blog post has generated several online comments, both for and against the construction project.
One person attacks Mr. Gates, asking how many people could be fed with $500-million. Another commenter defends the billionaire and his wife: “This is not our business. They are giving away their money, not ours.”
What do you think? Is the new headquarters a worthwhile expense or a vanity project?
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