Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has announced a historic plan to donate $200 billion to charity over the next two decades through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The pledge comes as governments around the world, including the United States, continue to cut back on international aid budgets.
In a blog post, Gates explained that he was inspired by global challenges like child health, climate change, and rising poverty.
He also referenced industrialist Andrew Carnegie's famous quote: "The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced."
Gates added, "There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people."
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, currently holds a net worth of $168 billion, placing him as the fifth richest individual globally, CNBC said.
His foundation has already donated over $100 billion since it launched in 2000. Under the new plan, the foundation will ramp up spending and close its doors by the end of 2045.
The Gates Foundation is the largest private charity in the world. It focuses on global health, education, gender equality, agriculture, and fighting diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
🔥🚨BREAKING NEWS: Bill Gates announced he is giving away nearly all of his $200 billion wealth while leaving only 1% for himself, as he shuts down the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and claims Elon Musk is 'killing' world's poorest children. pic.twitter.com/IamrHItY91
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) May 8, 2025
Bill Gates to Increase Donations to $9 Billion Annually Starting Next Year
CEO Mark Suzman announced that beginning next year, the foundation plans to boost its yearly donations to $9 billion.
According to GeekWire, Suzman noted, "It's lives saved and opportunities provided for the poorest and most vulnerable in the United States and around the world. And we track that every day."
The news follows major aid cuts from countries including the US, UK, and France.
Gates criticized these moves and highlighted the consequences, especially after the US Agency for International Development was shut down in early 2025. The agency had provided $42.5 billion in aid in 2023 alone.
Gates called out fellow billionaire Elon Musk for his role in the cuts. "The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," he said in an interview. Musk has signed the Giving Pledge but has donated less than 1% of his wealth, according to Forbes.
In 2010, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett co-founded the Giving Pledge, urging billionaires to donate at least half of their wealth during their lifetimes or in their wills.
Gates hopes others will follow his lead. "Good examples influence other people," he said.
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