In 2000, when Bill and Melinda French Gates established the Gates Foundation, they envisioned the organization continuing its operations for many years posthumously with their leftover funds. However, the multibillionaire co-founder of Microsoft has since changed his mind and wishes to distribute the majority of his wealth sooner rather than later.
On Thursday, Gates declared his intention to donate nearly all of his estimated $200 billion fortune over the next two decades with the aim of dissolving the foundation by December 31, 2045.
This statement comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is
working to slash funding
For initiatives related to healthcare, international aid, and various forms of public support — areas which the Gates Foundation backs — there have been worries raised regarding slow advancements in research and essential endeavors.
Gates aims to speed up the foundation’s efforts in global health and equality programs and believes this shift could serve as an example for other wealthy individuals, as stated in a blog post released on Thursday. This commitment expands upon Gates’ history of encouraging charitable giving. Alongside his former wife, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffet, he initiated the
Giving Pledge
In 2010, the initiative was launched to motivate affluent people to contribute a significant portion of their wealth to philanthropic causes, whether during their lifetime or through their wills. The movement currently boasts over 240 participants.
“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates, who turns 70 later this year, wrote. “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among the globe’s leading charitable organizations, has donated over $100 billion since its establishment. This includes funding for the creation of novel vaccines, diagnostics, and methods to deliver treatments aimed at combating diseases worldwide. Gates continues his efforts in this area.
sped up the rate of his donations
In recent times, particularly after the pandemic, this development represents a significant speeding up of his efforts to utilize his fortune for charitable causes. The Gates Foundation referred to it as “the largest philanthropic pledge ever made in contemporary times.”
Over the next 20 years, the Gates Foundation will focus on three main goals: ending preventable deaths of moms and babies, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and lifting hundreds of millions of people around the world out of poverty. In its announcement, the foundation raised concerns about what it described as stagnant global health trends, although Gates expressed optimism that advancements in
artificial intelligence
might accelerate the pace of advancement.
Gates currently has a net worth of $108 billion.
Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index
ranked him as the fifth richest individual globally. He now claims that his net worth could drop by 99% by 2045. Over the coming two decades, he anticipates donating approximately $200 billion via his foundation. These funds will be sourced from both the current $77 billion endowment of the foundation and his personal fortune, which includes profits generated from active business ventures like TerraPower.
nuclear power compan
y he founded.
French Gates
exited the Gates Foundation
Last year, following the couple’s highly publicized divorce in 2021, she.
said in 2022
she wouldn’t distribute most of her fortune through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The announcement came several weeks following Microsoft’s marking of its 50th anniversary since being founded by Gates. The company is currently valued at over $3 trillion. “I feel it’s appropriate to commemorate this significant achievement by pledging to distribute the wealth I accumulated through my work with the firm,” he stated.
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Bill Gates unveils plans to donate nearly all of his wealth and dissolve the Gates Foundation within two decades.
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