💰 Gates Foundation will spend $200 billion on charity over the next 20 years

• Bill Gates has decided to donate virtually his entire fortune through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to save and improve lives globally.
• During the foundation's first 25 years, over 100 billion dollars were donated, and Gates plans to double this amount to more than 200 billion dollars by 2045.
• The foundation will focus on three main goals: stopping preventable deaths among mothers and children, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and helping hundreds of millions of people escape poverty.

In a new announcement, Bill Gates has stated that he will donate virtually his entire fortune through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years, with a deadline of December 31, 2045, when the foundation will permanently close its doors.

This is a change from the original plan, where the foundation would cease several decades after the deaths of Gates and his ex-wife Melinda. After input from the board, Gates now believes the foundation's goals can be achieved in a shorter timeframe.

Doubled donation over the coming two decades

During the Gates Foundation's first 25 years - partly funded by Warren Buffett's generosity - over 100 billion dollars were donated. Over the next two decades, Gates plans to double this amount. The exact sum will depend on the markets and inflation, but he expects the foundation will spend more than 200 billion dollars between now and 2045.

The announcement comes at a time when Gates is reflecting on several milestones: the foundation's 25th anniversary, the year his father would have turned 100, Microsoft's 50th anniversary, and Gates himself turning 70 in October.

Gates says he is proud of what the foundation has achieved during its first 25 years. They were central in creating Gavi and the Global Fund, which together have saved over 80 million lives. They have been a key partner in the work to eradicate polio and supported the creation of a new vaccine against rotavirus that has helped reduce the number of children who die from diarrhea by 75 percent annually.

Three key goals for the future

Over the next 20 years, the Gates Foundation will work toward three main goals:

1. No mother, child, or baby should die from preventable causes. Since 1990, the number of children under 5 who die annually has decreased from 12 million to 5 million. Gates believes the world can halve this number again.
2. The next generation should grow up in a world without deadly infectious diseases. Gates expects polio and Guinea worm to soon be added to the list of eradicated diseases, and he is optimistic that malaria and measles can be eradicated before the foundation closes.
3. Hundreds of millions of people should escape poverty. The foundation will continue to focus on education, nutrition, smallholder farmers, and digital infrastructure. They will also support new applications for artificial intelligence that can accelerate the quality and reach of services in health, education, and agriculture.

Gates emphasizes that the foundation's work will not be possible without partnerships with governments, and expresses concern about cuts in aid budgets from countries like the US, UK, and France.

Gates hopes that other wealthy individuals will consider increasing the pace and scale of their donations, as it is such a profoundly meaningful way to give back to society.

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