The American billionaire and founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, announced that he intends to donate 99% of his wealth over the next twenty years, through his charitable institution “Bill and Melinda Gates”, with plans to end its operations in 2045.
Gates, who will be seventy years old next October, said in a post published on his personal website, that he does not want to mention after his death that he was “died rich”, noting that his goal is to restore his wealth to society faster than he was originally planning. He cited a famous article for the entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie, published in 1889 under the title “The Gospel of Wealth”, in which he called on the wealthy to donate their money to serve the community, saying: “The man who dies rich dies dies.”
Gates stressed that his organization has already provided about $ 100 billion over the past decades to support projects in the fields of health and development around the world, and is now planning to allocate another $ 200 billion until 2045, depending on economic conditions and inflation.
He added that the Foundation will stop its operations permanently on October 31, 2045, which means turning its entire wealth towards charitable goals before that date.
Gates indicated that his decision was inspired by prominent personalities in the field of charitable works, such as Warren Buffett, who is considered one of the largest donors in history. Despite his praise of charitable work, Gates did not avoid the criticisms directed at him on the influence of his institution on global health policies, as some see that his institution gives him an unjustified influence on health decisions in some countries.
Gates also criticized the reduction of Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, external aid budgets, considering that this may negatively affect anti -poverty efforts and infectious diseases such as malaria and AIDS.
At the end of his post, Gates stressed that his organization will continue to support projects aimed at improving people’s lives around the world until their closure.
