Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has announced a bold plan to donate nearly all his wealth and wind down the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by December 31, 2045.
The billionaire pledged the foundation will spend $200 billion by then to tackle global health challenges, poverty, and child mortality.
Gates made the announcement on the foundation’s 25th anniversary, stating his intention to accelerate philanthropy in the face of rising global needs and declining international aid.
Foundation to spend $200 Billion in two decades
Gates, 69, said the foundation will focus its remaining years on eradicating diseases like polio and malaria, improving maternal health, and reducing child mortality.
The commitment includes spending 99% of his $108 billion net worth, effectively closing the foundation after the funds are exhausted.
Since its inception in 2000, the foundation has already donated over $100 billion to global initiatives such as Gavi, the Global Fund, and research in vaccines and healthcare.
The new plan accelerates previous timelines, which had set the foundation’s closure for decades after the deaths of Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates.
Criticism of U.S. foreign aid cuts
Gates used the moment to sharply criticize Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s decision to slash U.S. foreign aid, managed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He told the Financial Times, “The image of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.”
Speaking to Reuters, Gates warned that the cuts could reverse decades of progress and result in millions of preventable deaths in the coming years.
He added, “Deaths will start going up for the first time in a generation if resources vanish.”
Gates urged fellow billionaires to increase their giving.
“People will say many things about me when I die, but ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” he wrote on his website.
“There are too many urgent problems to hold on to resources that could help people now.”
He emphasized that even with vast private resources, government funding remains critical.
He praised some African nations for reallocating budgets but warned that eradicating polio still depends heavily on U.S. support.
A legacy of philanthropy
Despite facing conspiracy theories and criticism for the foundation’s outsized influence in global health, Gates remains focused on measurable impact.
The foundation’s budget will hit $9 billion annually by 2026.
“I hope others consider how much they can accelerate progress for the world’s poorest,” he wrote.
“Giving back is one of the most profoundly impactful choices we can make.”
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