One of the richest men in the world, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, promises to donate 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. We are talking about more than $200 billion.
He announced this in a statement.
“People will talk a lot about me when I die, but I am determined that the words ‘he died rich’ will not be heard. I have too many pressing problems to solve to maintain resources that could be used to help people,” the billionaire wrote.
He added that this is why he returned the money to society much faster than he had initially planned. When the Foundation spends it, it will close. This will happen on December 31, 2045. Bill and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, initially wanted the Foundation to cease to exist a few decades after their deaths.
Bloomberg and Reuters emphasize that Microsoft’s founder made this statement against the backdrop of the wealthiest countries in the world refusing to fund global healthcare. For example, the United States has decided not to give money to the World Health Organization, USAID, and Pepfar. The UK and France have also cut their aid budgets.
Over the 25 years of its existence, the Gates Foundation has allocated more than $100 billion to fight tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.