Billionaire Bill Gates announced that he will double his charitable giving to $200 billion over the next 20 years. In a blog post, the Microsoft co-founder stated his motivation stems from global challenges such as children’s health and climate change, alongside the late Andrew Carnegie’s critique of wealth accumulation. Gates emphasized, “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.” He ranks as the world’s fifth richest person with a $168 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The $200 billion commitment assumes growth in his charitable foundation’s endowment through investments. The Gates Foundation, established in 2000 by Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, has already distributed over $100 billion. Gates noted that after giving away ‘virtually all’ of his wealth, the foundation will close by the end of 2045. Despite increasing his contributions, Gates acknowledged that philanthropists cannot compensate for multibillion-dollar foreign aid cuts by the U.S. and other wealthy nations. He criticized Elon Musk for his role in reducing U.S. foreign aid, stating, “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.” Gates co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010 with his then-wife and Warren Buffett, committing the world’s wealthiest individuals to donate more than half their wealth. Musk has signed the pledge, though Gates remains uncertain if Musk will fulfill it, given his minimal contributions so far.
— new from CNBC
