Bill Gates at the University of Nairobi when he visited Kenya in November, 2022. He is determined he will not die a rich man.
Philanthropist Bill Gates has announced he will give out nearly all his
wealth through the Gates Foundation in the next 20 years, and that the
Foundation will permanently close in 2045.
Gates said in a post that the foundation will spend $200 billion in the
remaining 20 years. This is double the $100 billion that the foundation has
given out since it was founded in the year 2000.
Gates, who will be 70 years old in October, said he is determined that
he will not die a rich man.
“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. There are too many
urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to
help people,” he said in a note on his website.
The historic funding announcement of $200 billion represents the largest
philanthropic commitment in modern history.
The original charter of the Foundation had said the foundation would
continue to exist 20 years past the death of Gates.
But Bill said there are too many urgent problems to solve. “That is why
I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had
originally planned,” he wrote. “I will give away virtually all my wealth
through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and
improving lives around the world. And on December 31, 2045, the foundation will
close its doors permanently.”
The accelerated timeline was affirmed by the foundation’s governing
board.
While the foundation’s strategies are not changing, over the next two
decades, the foundation will work together with its partners to make as much
progress as possible towards three primary goals.
These are: helping end preventable deaths of moms and babies; ensuring
the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious
diseases; and lifting millions of people out of poverty, putting them on a path
to prosperity.
“During the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation—powered in part by
the generosity of Warren Buffett—we gave away more than $100 billion,” Gates
wrote. “Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount
will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will
spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045. This figure includes the
balance of the endowment and my future contributions.”
He said the shift in the sunset date is driven by urgency and
opportunity. The foundation hopes to capitalise on the extraordinary global
progress in health and development between 2000 and 2025—a period when child
deaths were halved, deaths from deadly infectious diseases were significantly
reduced, and hundreds of millions of people rose out of poverty.
Bill Gates meets farmers in Ghana in a past visit to Africa.
Since 2000, the Gates Foundation contributed to saving 82 million lives
through its support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Together with its partners, the foundation also helped develop more than
100 innovations, including vaccines, diagnostic tools, and treatments designed
to meet the needs of people living in low- and middle-income countries. Taken
together, these innovations—and the people who made them possible—helped change
the trajectory of global health. Still, there are hundreds more innovations in
the pipeline.
“The needs at this time are greater than any we’ve seen in the lifetime
of the foundation, but the achievements of the past 25 years have shown that
tremendous progress is still possible,” said Mark Suzman, CEO and board member
of the Gates Foundation. “That’s why, in the next two decades, working in close
collaboration with our partners, we’ll deploy these new innovations and apply
25 years of learnings and progress to making an even bigger difference.”
This announcement comes amidst multiple years of stagnant or, in some cases,
backsliding progress on global health metrics.
Governments around the world have announced tens of billions of dollars
in cuts to aid funding that stand to have devastating consequences for the
world’s poorest people.
At the same time, scientific breakthroughs, powerful innovations, and
new tools—from vaccines to AI—are creating opportunities to save and improve
lives faster than ever before.
“The truth is, there have never been more opportunities to help people
live healthier, more prosperous lives. Advances in technology are happening
faster than ever, especially with artificial intelligence on the rise,” Gates
said. “Even with all the challenges that the world faces, I’m optimistic about
our ability to make progress—because each breakthrough is yet another chance to
make someone’s life better.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded in 2000 but in 2025
changed name to “Gates Foundation” to honor Bill Gates Sr.’s legacy and Melinda
French Gates’ contributions.
It had about 20 employees in the year 2000 but currently employs more
than 2000 people.
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates contributed $60.2 billion to the
foundation since inception to 2024.
On the other side, Warren Buffett has contributed $43.3 billion to the
foundation from 2006 to 2024.
The Foundation has paid out more than $100 billion since inception and
had an endowment of $77.2 billion as of end of 2024.
It has offices in Seattle, Washington DC, New Delhi, Beijing, London,
Abuja, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Berlin, Dakar, and Nairobi.