Bill Gates has announced plans to give away his $200bn fortune.
The Microsoft founder and tech billionaire has revealed a commitment to accelerate plans to help all people live healthy, productive lives by spending $200bn over the next 20 years.
The decision marks a major acceleration in his Gates Foundation’s work and sets a new date of 2045 to sunset its operations.
Bill Gates plans to give away $200bn fortune
It represents the largest philanthropic commitment in modern history.
Bill Gates said: “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned.
“I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.”
The accelerated timeline was affirmed by the foundation’s governing board with a change to the foundation’s charter, which had said the organisation would sunset 20 years after Gates’ death.
The funding pledged exceeds the foundation’s current endowment, with the balance coming over time from Gates’ personal fortune.
Bill Gates said in a statement: “A few years ago, I began to rethink that [timeline]. More recently, with the input from our board, I now believe we can achieve the foundation’s goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners”.
While the foundation’s strategies are not changing, over the next two decades, the foundation will work together with its partners to make as much progress as possible towards three primary goals:
- Help end preventable deaths of mothers and babies
- Ensure the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases
- Lift millions of people out of poverty, putting them on a path to prosperity
Gates said: “During the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation—powered in part by the generosity of Warren Buffett—we gave away more than $100bn.
“Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will spend more than $200bn between now and 2045. This figure includes the balance of the endowment and my future contributions.”
Since 2000, the Gates Foundation contributed to saving 82m lives through its support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Together with its partners, the foundation also helped develop more than 100 innovations, including vaccines, diagnostic tools, and treatments designed to meet the needs of people living in low- and middle-income countries.
