Microsoft сo-founder Bill Gates vows to endow $200 billion to global causes by 2045

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has pledged to give away nearly all his fortune—99%—by 2045, marking a significant acceleration in his philanthropic efforts and a planned closure of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation within two decades.

In a blog post published on May 8, Gates, 69, outlined his vision for ramping up charitable giving through the foundation he co-founded with his former wife, Melinda French Gates, Caliber.Az reports, citing British media.

"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," Gates wrote.

So far, the foundation has donated $100 billion toward global health and development, and Gates expects it to spend another $200 billion over the next 20 years, depending on economic conditions such as inflation and market performance.

Gates cited industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s 1889 essay The Gospel of Wealth, which argued that wealthy individuals have a moral obligation to give back to society. Quoting Carnegie, Gates added: "The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced."

The move represents a shift from earlier plans, which had envisioned the foundation operating long after Gates' lifetime. In an interview with the BBC’s Newshour, he explained, “It’s really about the urgency. We can spend a lot more if we’re not trying to be perpetual, and I know that the spending will be in line with my values.”

Despite plans to give away the vast majority of his wealth, Gates is still likely to remain a billionaire. Bloomberg currently ranks him as the world’s fifth-richest person with a net worth of $108 billion. In his blog, Gates included a simple graphic—a hand-drawn arrow tracing his wealth’s trajectory to nearly zero by 2045.

The foundation’s updated goals focus on eliminating preventable diseases that kill mothers and children, eradicating infectious diseases like malaria and measles, and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.

Gates also voiced criticism of recent cuts to foreign aid by countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and France. “It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,” he wrote. “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.”

He was even more candid during his Newshour appearance when asked about controversial aid cuts linked to tech billionaire Elon Musk. Gates stated bluntly, “These cuts will kill not just children, but millions of children. You wouldn’t have expected the world’s richest person to do it.”

In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Gates criticised Musk further, highlighting the case of a canceled grant to a hospital in Gaza Province, Mozambique. The aid was withdrawn after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed it funded condoms “for Hamas” in Gaza. Though Musk later acknowledged the mistake, the cuts continued. “I’d love for [Musk] to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money,” Gates told the FT.

By Tamilla Hasanova