Bill Gates secretly visited rice institute in Laguna

Microsoft founder and CEO Bill Gates (JStone / Shutterstock)

MANILA — Forbes’ richest man, Microsoft cofounder Bill gates, visited the headquarters of the International Rice Institute (Irri) in Los Banos, Laguna on Wednesday. 

Gates, named as the world’s richest man by Forbes with a net worth of $79.2 billion, is a major grantee of the foundation.

Sources cited in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report said that Gates was seen inside the compound of the University of the Philippines where the Irri is located.

He was seen wearing a “violet shirt and a pair of khaki pants” as he arrived in the compound, 66 kilometers away from Manila.

“(He looked) just how he looked like in his pictures. Low-profile lang (only),” the source said.

Sources also added that Gates visited the institute’s boardroom, experimental rice fields and gene bank. He also had lunch inside the compound and left at around 3 in the afternoon.

Gates has been in the country since April 4. He arrived in Puerto Princesa on a private jet with US registry number N887WM.