14 DAY TRIAL // Ric Weiland joined the company created by high school classmates Bill Gates and Paul Allen as one of Microsoft's first five employees. Also the first Microsoft employee to be openly gay, Weiland committed suicide through a self-inflicted wound to the head in July 2006, following a period of depression. After his death, his fortune was divided among LGBT, HIV/AIDS, environmental and education organizations. The Pride Foundation is the recipient of no less than $65 million, namely the largest single donation to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement.
"Ric was one of Pride Foundation's closest supporters, not just as a donor, but as a board member and volunteer," said Audrey Haberman, executive director of the Pride Foundation. "All of us feel such a tremendous loss with him gone. Ric's bequest will do what he always wanted-inspire others to give to the causes they care about to the full extent that they can."
"Ric was a good friend, a terrific computer programmer and a very generous man," said Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and friend of Weiland. "His gift to the Pride Foundation demonstrates his compassion and dedication to the community, and I'm very proud to have had him as a friend. He will be sorely missed but his legacy lives on through the work of Pride and the charitable organizations it supports."
Despite his numerous achievements in computing, Weiland is remembered as a modest man. His philanthropic work is illustrative of the culture of giving established over at Microsoft, with Chairman Bill Gates at the forefront. Gates will in fact leave the company he helped build, come summer 2008, in order to dedicate the vast majority of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Out of the $65 million donation to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement, $19 million will go directly to Pride Foundation for the Northwest's LGBT community scholarships and grants while the remaining $46 million will be offered from a special fund to 10 national LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations over the upcoming eight years.
"Ric gave scores of LGBT groups significant resources to achieve real change during his lifetime. He did not seek the spotlight -- or even acknowledgement -- as he gave away tens of millions of dollars," said Urvashi Vaid, executive director of the national Arcus Foundation, who also knew Ric as a friend. "With this extraordinary gift, Ric's legacy challenges each of us to commit more fully to our own community and to realize that there is much more still to be done."