One of the richest people in the world, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is pledging to give away 99% of his fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will spend it over 20 years to save and improve the lives of people around the world. Thatʼs more than $200 billion.
He reported this in a statement.
"People will talk a lot about me when I die, but I am determined that the words ʼhe died richʼ will not be heard. I have too many pressing problems to solve to hold back resources that could be used to help people," the billionaire wrote.
And he added that thatʼs why he decided to return the money to society much faster than he originally planned. When the Foundation spends it, it will close. This will happen on December 31, 2045. Initially, Bill and his ex-wife Melinda Gates wanted the Foundation to cease to exist a few decades after their deaths.
“I hope that by accelerating our giving, we can set the world on a path to ending preventable maternal and infant deaths and lifting millions of people out of poverty,” is how the Bill Gates Foundation describes its next goals.
Bloomberg and Reuters note that the Microsoft founder made this statement against the background of the worldʼs richest countries refusing to fund global health. For example, the US decided not to give money to the World Health Organization, USAID and Pepfar. The UK and France have also reduced their aid budgets.
- Over the 25 years of the Gates Foundationʼs existence, it has allocated more than $100 billion to fight tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.
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