Bill Gates pledges near total fortune to aid humanitarian causes
Billionaire Bill Gates announced on Thursday that he will donate approximately 200 billion dollars, nearly his entire fortune, to those in need. He intends to accelerate the donation process compared to his original plans and complete it by 2045.
Gates presented his vision in a statement marking the 25th anniversary of the foundation. He established the organization with his then-wife Melinda in 2000. Over time, another billionaire, Warren Buffett, joined their efforts.
Bill Gates committed on Thursday to donating 200 billion dollars through his charitable foundation by 2045. In an interview with "The New York Times," he criticized Elon Musk, accusing the world's richest person of "killing the world's poorest children" through massive cuts to the U.S. foreign aid budget - Reuters reports.
"The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one," Gates stated.
The 69-year-old billionaire, co-founder of Microsoft, said he is speeding up plans to dispose of nearly his entire fortune and will close the foundation on December 31, 2045, earlier than initially planned. Gates said he hopes the money will help eliminate diseases like polio and malaria, end preventable deaths among women and children, and reduce global poverty.
Doesn't want to die rich
"There are too many urgent problems to solve," he emphasized. He illustrated how the value of his wealth will shrink and decrease by 99%. "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 said.
The Microsoft co-founder referred to the significant reduction in funding for humanitarian aid by Western governments. The United States, which funded the largest share of humanitarian aid, has drastically reduced funding for the agency responsible for delivering it, USAID.
Elon Musk, currently the world's richest person, with wealth estimated by Bloomberg at 328 billion dollars, is associated with budget cuts in American institutions. For comparison, in the same Bloomberg ranking, Gates is fifth with a fortune estimated at 168 billion dollars. Bill Gates noted that among the countries reducing support for aid organizations are France and the United Kingdom.
He explained that his foundation will spend about 200 billion dollars before the end of 2045, but noted that this amount may change depending on market conditions and inflation.
Reuters highlighted that the Gates Foundation already has significant importance in providing aid where people need it most. In 2026, the foundation's budget will be nine billion dollars. Due to the role the Gates Foundation plays, many institutions, including the World Health Organization, have criticized the billionaire and his initiative for having too extensive an influence.
