Billionaire Gates Pledges Million$ to Fight Polio

Thursday, Jan 22, 2009 | Updated 12:16 PM EDT

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Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has pledged $250 million toward the international effort to eradicate polio.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has pledged $250 million toward the international effort to eradicate polio.

Gates announced his donation Wednesday night at a conference in San Diego for leaders of Rotary International. The group has been trying to match a $100 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2007.

The Gates foundation has given $655 million to polio-eradication efforts since the late 1990s.

The 1.2 million-member Rotary International has raised more than $650 million since adopting the anti-polio cause in 1985 as its primary international mission.