Bill Gates has just made one of the biggest philanthropic pledges ever, in addition to an announcement about the Gates Foundation on its 25th anniversary. Via the foundation, "I will give away virtually all my wealth ... over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world," Gates announced Thursday on his blog. By "virtually all," the 69-year-old Microsoft co-founder means 99% of his fortune, or about $107 billion in today's dollars, per the AP, which notes that his donation spread over the next two decades will allow the foundation to spend an extra $200 billion over that time period.
Gates, who calls it "kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes," also noted in his blog that he'd be shuttering the foundation he co-founded with ex-wife Melinda French Gates earlier than expected, at the end of 2045. "This is a change from our original plans," he writes, noting that initially, the foundation had been set to "sunset" a few decades after they'd died. "A few years ago, I began to rethink that approach. ... I now believe we can achieve the foundation's goals on a shorter timeline."
"It's unclear whether the world's richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people," Gates adds. "But the one thing we can guarantee is that, in all of our work, the Gates Foundation will support efforts to help people and countries pull themselves out of poverty." Gates then turned to the richest man on Earth. Talking to the Financial Times, Gates took issue with the cuts to humanitarian aid around the world wrought by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, warning that those cuts seem misguided.
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"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," he says, speaking specifically about grants being canceled for a Mozambique hospital that helps women avoid spreading HIV to their infants. "I'd love for [Musk] to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money." He adds in a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times: "He put [the USAID budget] in the wood chipper, because he didn't go to a party that weekend." More here, including Gates' thoughts on AI. (More Bill Gates stories.)
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