Bill Gates has unveiled a transformative plan to donate
virtually all
of his estimated $200 billion fortune within the next two decades. This decision will culminate in the closure of the Gates Foundation on December 31, 2045. Initially, Gates and Melinda French Gates intended for the foundation to operate long after their lifetimes. However, Gates now emphasizes the urgency of addressing global challenges, particularly as governmental support for health and foreign aid programs wanes.
Gates plans to channel
$200 billion
through the foundation over the next
20 years
. This substantial sum will derive from the foundation’s current endowment o
f $77 billion
and Gates’ individual fortune, encompassing continuing business ventures. With his present assets valued at $108 billion, Gates expects his wealth to decrease by approximately 99% by the year 2045. The organization characterizes this as the
largest philanthropic commitment
in modern history.
Gates indicates an eagerness to accelerate his charitable endeavors, motivated by the conviction that there are numerous urgent problems demanding immediate attention. Inspired by
Andrew Carnegie’s philosophy,
Gates is determined to avoid dying wealthy. He aims to accelerate the foundation’s work on global health and equity initiatives, hoping to set a precedent for other billionaires to follow.
Background and setting for the establishment
Established in 2000, the
Gates Foundation
is considered one of the world’s biggest charitable foundations, having contributed more than
$100 billion to date
. This announcement coincides with the Trump administration’s budget cuts to health, foreign aid, and public assistance programs, areas the foundation actively supports. Despite these governmental reductions, the foundation remains committed to its mission.
Over the next two decades, the foundation will focus on three primary goals: ending preventable maternal and infant deaths, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, aiming to set them on a path to prosperity. These objectives underscore the foundation’s commitment to addressing critical global issues.
Apart from tackling global health and reducing poverty, the foundation will extend its efforts into various domains such as U.S. education, particularly concentrating on support for low-income students, African Americans, and
Latino
This will also bolster agriculture and aid small-scale farmers, promote gender equality initiatives, and develop digital public infrastructure to improve accessibility to financial and social services for students.
The organization assesses its achievements based not on how much money it spends but rather on the effect it has had on people’s lives, such as saving numerous individuals and offering chances to those who are most at risk. The group states that they have helped save millions of lives via programs like
Gavi,
The Vaccine Alliance, and the
Global Fund to Combat AIDS
, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Following their 2021 divorce
, Melinda French Gates
left the foundation in
2024.
Warren Buffett
A notable contributor and trustee also resigned and stated he would not make further contributions after his death. Both Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were notified about the expedited donation strategy. The trio—Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett—initiated the Giving Pledge in 2010 with the aim of persuading affluent individuals to donate majority portions of their wealth. This remains an ongoing cause for which Bill Gates actively advocates.
