Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plan to close the Foundation Trust is in contrast to most large charitable foundations that have no set closure date. This is intended to lower administrative costs over the years of the Foundation Trust's life and ensure that the Foundation Trust not fall into a situation where the vast majority of its expenditures are on administrative costs, including salaries, with only token amounts contributed to charitable causes. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), previously branded as the 'William H. Gates Foundation', is a private foundation founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It was launched in
Bill Gates Sr. to William Henry Gates I or Sr. (1891–1969) and Lillian Elizabeth Rice (1891–1966); the couple had married in 1913. His paternal grandmother was German and his maternal grandmother was English, and he was apparently the "third" William Henry Gates, despite being named the second. Gates was an active member of a Boy Scout troop for several years, and earned the Eagle Scout Award in 1941. After high school he enlisted in the United States Army, changing his name to William Gates Jr. to avoid the appearance of elitism. He fought in World War II and was honorably discharged in November