Global financiers, asset managers and investors who manage $63 trillion in assets are congregating in the UAE capital next week, with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates among those attending Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
“You're dealing with 53 per cent of the global GDP,” said Chris Hughes, editor-in-chief of the event. Mr Gates, one of the world’s most influential philanthropists, will make a major announcement, he added.
“Bill Gates will be on stage at Abu Dhabi Finance Week on day one, along with a whole cast of very, very senior people, and they're there to talk about a very specific investment in humanity,” he told The National.
The multibillion-dollar Gates Foundation's investment pledge will take place in Abu Dhabi and hosted by The Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, said Mr Hughes, with the goal of bringing global donors together and to make commitments to eradicating polio.
Bill Gates pictured in Abu Dhabi in late 2024. Antonie Robertson / The National
It will involve a major pledge and commitment of new resources to The Global Polio Eradication Initiative – a public-private partnership led by national governments, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the Gates Foundation, among others, said Mr Hughes. The investment amount will be released on Monday.
“It is an investment in global health,” he added. “It involves the UAE and is another example of the UAE leadership out in the world in humanitarian issues.”
Abu Dhabi Finance Week this year will highlight that earnings are not measured solely in assets, Mr Hughes said.
“Aspiring to do well and make profits is amazing, but sometimes profits have a different meaning. Sometimes profits can actually be reinvested back into society,” he added. “And it's important to remember that finance has that power, too.”
Engineering tomorrow's capital
Engineering the Capital Network is the broader theme of the event hosted by Abu Dhabi's financial centre ADGM this year.
Held over four days from December 8 to 11, ADFW will bring together key leaders in the financial world, policymakers, regulators and those driving the evolution of newer industries such as digital assets, FinTech and art
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