American billionaire and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, has announced that he will donate 99% of his wealth to charity and shut down the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by the year 2045.
In a statement marking the foundation’s 25th anniversary on Thursday, the 69-year-old said his goal is to fight global inequality and leave behind a legacy of impact, not riches.
“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 wrote on his personal blog. “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.”
Gates, who is worth around $168 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, plans to increase the foundation’s yearly spending to $9 billion by 2026. He said the total amount given out before the foundation closes could reach $200 billion, depending on the state of the global economy.
Since it began in 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated over $100 billion to causes such as global health, poverty reduction, and education. Major projects include Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Reacting to falling support from wealthy nations, Gates said, “It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for their poorest people.” He pointed to reduced foreign aid from the United States, United Kingdom, and France, while praising some African governments for adjusting their budgets to cover the gaps.
“Even with our resources, we can’t eradicate diseases like polio without government help,” he added.
Gates also encouraged other billionaires to consider giving more of their wealth to help the world’s poor. “I hope other wealthy people consider how much they can accelerate progress… if they increased the pace and scale of their giving,” he said.
The foundation, which Gates co-founded with his former wife, Melinda French Gates, later received major support from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. While the foundation has had great impact, it has also faced criticism for its influence over global health decisions and its role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite this, Gates says he is proud of the foundation’s work and believes it is time to hand over the future to others. “This is a profoundly impactful way to give back to society,” he said.
