6 U.S. Default Winners & Losers

1. Bill Gates

Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates' $37 billion philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation could benefit from a higher interest rate scenario according to IBIS, adding a small silver lining to the default scenario.

The Foundation focuses on solving problems of extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries, while in the U.S. it is working on improving the education system.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has teamed up with Gates in their charitable effort. In 2006, he announced that he would start giving much of his fortune to philanthropic causes, including a pledge to donate 10 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Asset Trust.

In the 2011 annual letter, Gates made a special plea to governments to not cut their foreign aid. "Although foreign aid accounts for less than 1 percent of governments' total budgets, it is one place being considered for cuts. As a result, health and agricultural assistance that saves lives and puts poor countries on a track for self-sufficiency is at risk," he wrote.

"..In the past some aid was sent to countries to buy friendship without real regard for its impact. However, today a significant portion of foreign aid is spent on hugely beneficial programs that improve people's lives in both the near and long term."

--Written by Shanthi Bharatwaj in New York



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