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Person

Jeff Raikes

Occupation:

Philanthropist, Co-Founder of the Raikes Foundation, Board Member to Several Organizations and Companies, Writer
Nationality:

American
Residence:

Seattle, Washington

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Jeffrey (Jeff) Raikes is a left-leaning millionaire and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, alongside his wife, Tricia Raikes, of the Raikes Foundation. He sits as a chair on of the Stanford University Board of Trustees. 1 He is a longtime associate of billionaire software developer Bill Gates, having worked for Microsoft and as CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Raikes has part ownership in Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, for which he also sits on the board of directors. 2

Background

Raikes was raised on a 3,000-acre farm in Ashland, Nebraska. After working in the cornfields during his youth, he went to Stanford University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering-economic systems in 1980. 3 After completing school, Raikes joined Apple Computer, but after two years he moved to join Bill Gates at Microsoft. He stayed at Microsoft for over 28 years, becoming one of the company’s top executives. While at Microsoft, he met his wife, Tricia Raikes. It is reported that his work at Microsoft netted him $450 million, plus fortune. 4

Raikes and his wife have three children, all of whom earned degrees from Stanford University. 5

Work after Microsoft

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

In 2008, Raikes was named the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest charitable foundation, although he did not have a lot of prior experience in philanthropy. In 2013, Raikes stepped down from his role as CEO in order to focus his personal philanthropy, the Raikes Foundation . 6

Raikes Foundation

Raikes and his wife founded the Raikes Foundation in 2002. The Raikes Foundation is a left-of-center private grantmaking foundation that financially supports youth-serving institutions focused on areas of education and youth homelessness. The foundation is based in Seattle, Washington. Since its establishment, the Raikes Foundation has distributed over $80 million in grants. 7

University Giving

University of Nebraska

Raikes and his wife are trustees of the University of Nebraska Foundation. 8 In 2008, shortly after Raikes pledged a donation of $10 million9 the University of Nebraska renamed the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management to the Jeffery S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. 10

In 2016, Raikes gave a $3 million private gift to the University of Nebraska’s Nebraska Food and Health Center. In addition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $2 million, while the Raikes pledged another $1 million “as a challenge to other potential donors.” 11

Stanford University

Raikes and his wife are actively involved and large donors to Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. 12 Raikes said he hopes to assist Stanford to not just cope with these demographic changes, but to use it to their advantage. He and his wife are also involved with the Center on Food Security and the Environment. They also created the Jeff and Tricia Raikes Undergraduate Scholarship Fund to assist students admitted to Stanford from rural and inner-city schools. 13

He has served on the School of Engineering’s Strategic Council and on the Major Gifts Regional Committee of The Stanford Challenge fundraising campaign. 14 He has served on a variety of committees, including Globalization, Investment Responsibility, Finance, and Audit, Compliance, and Risk. 15 He previously served on the Strategic Council of the School of Engineering and on the Seattle Major Gifts Committee of The Stanford Challenge. Raikes and his wife also helped establish the Mindset Scholars Network, which is within the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. 16

Raikes has been involved in other areas of the university, including Cardinal Service, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, the Graduate School of Education, and the Project for Education Research That Scales (PERTS) Mindset Challenge. He was the regional chair for Leading Minds and for Think Again.

In 2012, Raikes was elected to serve a five-year term on the Stanford University Board of Trustees. 17 In 2017, Raikes was then elected chair of the Board of Trustees. 18

Other Activities

Philanthropy

He is a board member of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA),19 a director of Costco Wholesale Corp. (since 2008) and the chair of its Nominating and Governance Committee,20 and board chair for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. 21

Raikes and his wife, along with a group of partners, created Giving Compass, an online portal to help connect donors, provide resources, and to educate donors about how to give better. 22

Politics and Advocacy

In 2016, Raikes gave $35,800 in financial contributions to candidates affiliated with the Democratic Party, specifically to committees supporting the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and the campaign of former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) for a U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin. 23

The Raikes Foundation has joined with other left-of-center organizations in taking a public stance denouncing and criticizing President Donald Trump. 24 Raikes and his wife team have been publicly outspoken against the Trump administration on multiple occasions. 25

References

  1. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  2. Johns, Greg. “Inbox: How Will Transition Affect Mariners?” MLB News. April 28, 2016. Accessed November 19. 2019. https://www.mlb.com/news/how-will-ownership-transition-affect-mariners-c175114276
  3. Nee, Eric. “Q&A: Jeff Raikes.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Winter 2010. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/qa_jeff_raikes#
  4. Jordon, Steve. “Nebraska Native Jeff Raikes to Retire as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO.” Omaha World-Herald. September 10, 2013. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://www.omaha.com/money/nebraska-native-jeff-raikes-to-retire-as-bill-melinda-gates/article_ec09d64c-1c58-5ca9-a65a-ee742dc387f9.html
  5. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  6. Jordon, Steve. “Nebraska Native Jeff Raikes to Retire as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO.” Omaha World-Herald. September 10, 2013. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://www.omaha.com/money/nebraska-native-jeff-raikes-to-retire-as-bill-melinda-gates/article_ec09d64c-1c58-5ca9-a65a-ee742dc387f9.html
  7. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  8. Ross, Timberly. “NU Regents Rename Program After Charity CEO.” Lincoln Journal Star. June 12, 2008. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://journalstar.com/news/local/nu-regents-rename-program-after-charity-ceo/article_c64d91f0-de99-5a50-b96f-5c33875101ee.html
  9. Jordon, Steve. “Nebraska Native Jeff Raikes to Retire as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO.” Omaha World-Herald. September 10, 2013. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://www.omaha.com/money/nebraska-native-jeff-raikes-to-retire-as-bill-melinda-gates/article_ec09d64c-1c58-5ca9-a65a-ee742dc387f9.html
  10. “The Raikes School Story.” The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://raikes.unl.edu/stories/raikes-school
  11. Dunker, Chris. “Raikes’ Gift Helps Launch Global Health Initiative at NU.” September 16, 2016. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/raikes-gift-helps-launch-global-health-initiative-at-nu/article_1fc873e5-89af-5a53-b156-5353933cc0a7.html
  12. Nee, Eric. “Q&A: Jeff Raikes.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Winter 2010. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/qa_jeff_raikes#
  13. Ray, Elaine. “Stanford Alumnus Jeffery Raikes to Join University’s Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. May 18, 2012. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/may/trustee-jeffrey-raikes-051812.html
  14. Ray, Elaine. “Stanford Alumnus Jeffery Raikes to Join University’s Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. May 18, 2012. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/may/trustee-jeffrey-raikes-051812.html
  15. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  16. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  17. Ray, Elaine. “Stanford Alumnus Jeffery Raikes to Join University’s Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. May 18, 2012. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/may/trustee-jeffrey-raikes-051812.html
  18. Sullivan, Kathleen. “Jeff Raikes Elected Chair of Sandford University Board of Trustees.” Stanford News. January 18, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/jeff-raikes-elected-chair-stanford-university-board-trustees/
  19. Governance & Leadership. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Accessed November 19, 2019. https://agra.org/who-we-are-our-leadership-old/jeff-raikes/
  20. Investor Relations. Biography: Jeff Raikes. Costco Wholesale Corp. Accessed November 19, 2019. http://investor.costco.com/board-member/jeff-raikes
  21. Anderson, Ken. “Raikes: Water and Food Security are Pressing Global Issues.” Brownfield AG News for America. April 11, 2017. Accessed November 19, 2019. https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/raikes-water-food-security-pressing-global-issues/
  22. Jaffe, Dennis. “21-st Century Philanthropy: How New Wealth is Poised to Transform Social Institutions.” Forbes. April 9, 2019. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dennisjaffe/2019/04/09/21st-century-philanthropy-how-new-wealth-is-poised-to-transform-social-institutions/#10e5bd623e14
  23. “Jeff Raikes Political Campaign Contributions 2016 Election Cycle.” Campaignmoney.com. Accessed November 19, 2019. https://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/jeff-raikes.asp?cycle=16       
  24.  Wyllie, Julian. “Trump’s Racist Tweets Prompt Foundations to Speak Out.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. July 31, 2019. Accessed November 6, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Trump-s-Racist-Tweets-Prompt/246845
  25. “Statement by Tricia and Jeff Raikes Against President Trump’s DACA Repel.” Raikes Foundation. September 5, 2017. Accessed November 19, 2019. https://raikesfoundation.org/blog/posts/statement-tricia-and-jeff-raikes-against-president-trump%E2%80%99s-daca-repeal
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