LONDON: Bill Gates pledged on Thursday to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world\u2019s poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.
\nThe 69-year-old billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said he was speeding up plans to divest his fortune and close the Gates Foundation on Dec. 31, 2045.
\n\u201cPeople will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that \u2018he died rich\u2019 will not be one of them,\u201d Gates wrote in a post on his website.
\n\u201cThere are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.\u201d
\nIn an implicit rebuke to President Donald Trump\u2019s slashing of aid from the world\u2019s biggest donor the United States, Gates\u2019 statement said he wanted to help stop newborn babies, children and mothers dying of preventable causes, end diseases like polio, malaria and measles, and reduce poverty.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s unclear whether the world\u2019s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,\u201d he added, noting cuts from major donors also including the UK and France.
\nGates said that despite the foundation\u2019s deep pockets, progress would not be possible without government support.
\nHe praised the response to aid cuts in Africa, where some governments have reallocated budgets, but said that as an example polio would not be eradicated without US funding.
\nGates made the announcement on the foundation\u2019s 25th anniversary. He set up the organization with his then-wife Melinda French Gates in 2000, and they were later joined by investor Warren Buffett.
\n\u201cI have come a long way since I was just a kid starting a software company with my friend from middle school,\u201d he said.
\nSince inception, the foundation has given away $100 billion, helping to save millions of lives and backing initiatives like the vaccine group Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
\nIt will close after it spends around 99 percent of his personal fortune, Gates said. The founders originally expected the foundation to wrap up in the decades after their deaths.
\nGates, who is valued at around $108 billion today, expects the foundation to spend around $200 billion by 2045, with the final figure dependent on markets and inflation.
\nThe foundation is already a huge player in global health, with an annual budget that will reach $9 billion by 2026.
\nIt has faced criticism for its outsize power and influence in the field without the requisite accountability, including at the World Health Organization.
\nGates himself was also subject to conspiracy theories, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nGates has also spoken to US President Donald Trump several times in recent months on the importance of continued investment in global health.
\n\u201cI hope other wealthy people consider how much they can accelerate progress for the world\u2019s poorest if they increased the pace and scale of their giving, because it is such a profoundly impactful way to give back to society,\u201d Gates wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON: Bill Gates pledged on Thursday to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world\u2019s poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid. The 69-year-old billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said he was speeding up plans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-477168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n