Bill Gates intends to get out of the list of the richest people in the world by donating his entire fortune to the philanthropic foundation that he chairs with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates. And, as an immediate measure, the founder of Microsoft announced this Wednesday an extraordinary injection of 20,000 million dollars (approximately 19,800 million euros). In turn, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest in the world, has announced that, thanks to these new funds, it will be able to increase its annual spending on global health, poverty and equality by 50% until the year 2026. Its objective: to confront the “accumulated global crises” that are shaking the planet.
“Looking into the future, my plan is to donate all my wealth to the foundation, leaving aside what I spend on myself and my family,” Bill Gates explained on his blog. “I make donations and investments in health issues in the United States, including Alzheimer’s, outside of the foundation. Through Breakthrough Energy (something like Breakthrough or Transformative Energy), I will continue to invest and donate funds to combat climate change. I hope that the work in these areas will produce money that can also go to the foundation”, he has detailed. “Donating money is not a sacrifice for me. I feel privileged to be able to get involved in facing these challenges, I enjoy the work and I believe that I have the obligation to return my resources to society, in the way that they have the greatest possible impact in reducing suffering and improving lives. ”.
Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) July 13, 2022
The millionaire contribution – which, according to Bloomberg, represents a fifth of Bill Gates’s fortune – places the ex-partner as the largest philanthropists in the world, with some 55,000 million dollars (practically the same amount of euros, given the parity of both coins) donated so far, according to the magazine Forbes. According to the publication, the donation drops Gates one spot on the list of the world’s richest people, to number five.
Bill and Melinda Gates devised in 2010, together with the tycoon Warren Buffett, the Giving Pledge initiative (something like The commitment to give), which was joined by 40 millionaire individuals and families and which today exceeds 400 signatories. The promise was to donate most of his fortune to philanthropic causes “to address some of society’s most pressing problems.” Since 2006, Buffett has contributed $35.7 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, half of his wealth.
The injection of capital from Bill Gates is added, reports the foundation, to the joint announcement of the ex-partner of a contribution of 15,000 million in July of last year, and the donation of 3,100 million by Warren Buffett this June. The funds of the Gates Foundation thus reach, according to their own data, 70,000 million dollars. For reference, and also according to the organization itself, the foundation has spent $79.2 billion since his birth in 2000.
Bill and Melinda Gates divorced in 2021, but both continue to share the presidency of their foundation. Earlier this year it was revealed that, after the separation, Melinda French Gates (who has reverted to her maiden name) had changed her plans and planned to spread her fortune among various philanthropic companies, instead of leaving the bulk to the organization that runs her Name.
“Despite the enormous setbacks of recent years, I see incredible examples of heroism and sacrifice around the world, and I believe that progress is possible,” said Bill Gates in a press release on Wednesday, showing his usual optimism. “But the great crises of our time require us to do more … I hope that, by giving more, we can alleviate some of the current suffering of the people and fulfill the mission of the foundation: to give all people the opportunity to live a healthy life and productive.”