Click the image for details. On May 9, local time in Seattle, Bill Gates met with Niu Gensheng, Niu Ben (Niu Gensheng's son and chairman of the Laoniu兄妹 Charity Foundation), and Secretary-General Chen Xiaopeng at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters. At the meeting, Niu Gensheng, through an interpreter, introduced to Bill Gates the four teams visiting: the Laoniu Foundation, the Laoniu兄妹 Charity Foundation, New Western Science and Technology Education, and all GPL students. Sun Xianhong, one of the founders of Mengniu, also participated in the visit and, using his specialty, filmed a video to record this important moment. Bill Gates is widely known as the founder of Microsoft and the world's richest person for over a decade, but he is also a founder of the International Philanthropy Institute. In November 2015, philanthropists from China and the U.S.—Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Niu Gensheng, He Qiaonv, and Ye Qingjun—jointly initiated the establishment of the Shenzhen International Philanthropy Institute to cultivate backbone talent for China's charity sector. The news shocked China's charity community and was described by the media as "a historic move that will change the landscape of China's charity talent cultivation." According to public information, the Laoniu Foundation was established at the end of 2004 by Niu Gensheng, founder, former chairman, and president of Mengniu Dairy Group, along with his family, who donated all their shares in Mengniu and most of their dividends. It is a foundation engaged in social charity activities, registered with the Civil Affairs Department of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and its business supervisory unit is the Financial Work Office of the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. As of the end of 2016, the Laoniu Foundation had cooperated with 156 institutions and organizations, carrying out 198 charity projects across 30 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) in China, as well as parts of the United States, Canada, France, Nepal, and Africa, with charitable expenditures reaching 1.148 billion yuan. "I once joked about the saying, 'Wealth does not pass three generations: the first generation creates, the second preserves, and the third squanders.' I have done all three generations' work. After 50, it's time for me to contribute," Niu Gensheng once said, expressing his hope to make the world a better place. Niu Gensheng also said: "Money is a magical thing. It can bring tears of gratitude or turn people into enemies. It all depends on how you use it." The Laoniu Foundation's official website states that its purpose is "Helping others and oneself, with gratitude; nurturing people and trees, with responsibility for the world." Its mission is "Education as the foundation of the nation, environment as the foundation of survival, and charity as the foundation of society." Its main philanthropic directions are environmental protection, culture and education, and industry promotion, contributing to human health and equal development, "inheriting for a century, protecting the future." On June 1, 2016, the Giving Pledge announced the list of 17 new individuals and families who had joined since June 2015. Among them was Mengniu founder Niu Gensheng, making him the first person from mainland China to join the Giving Pledge. According to media reports, in his letter to Buffett and the Gateses, Niu Gensheng said that the Giving Pledge coincided with his philosophy and he was very willing to join. The Giving Pledge is a charity initiative launched in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, aiming to call on global billionaires to devote their personal wealth to philanthropy. It requires participants to donate more than half of their property to charity during their lifetime or upon their death. At the invitation of Mengniu's current board, Niu Gensheng last year became a member of Mengniu's Strategy and Development Committee. Some called this a "return," but such wording is not precise. Although Niu Gensheng now participates in formulating Mengniu's strategy at board meetings, he still prioritizes philanthropy. "Twenty years from now, I hope people will recognize Niu Gensheng as a philanthropist," Niu Gensheng once said. Source: Shiwu