Bill Gates Pledges to Give Away $200 Billion by 2045, Marking Largest Philanthropic Commitment in History

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff   

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA

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Image Source: Achmad Ibrahim/AP

Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has announced plans to donate “virtually all” of his wealth estimated at around $200 billion within the next 20 years. The move will culminate in the closure of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on December 31, 2045, marking what the foundation describes as the largest philanthropic commitment in modern history.

Originally intended to operate for several decades beyond Gates’ and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates’ lifetimes, the foundation's new trajectory accelerates the timeline for its giving and global impact. In a blog post published Thursday morning, Gates, who turns 70 later this year, shared his motivation: “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. 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.”

The announcement comes amid declining U.S. government funding for global health and development initiatives a shift that threatens the very causes the Gates Foundation supports. Gates’ decision is seen as a response to these policy changes, particularly under the Trump administration, which has proposed steep cuts to health, foreign aid, and public assistance programs.

Over the next two decades, the foundation will concentrate on three primary objectives:

• Ending preventable deaths of mothers and babies,

• Eradicating deadly infectious diseases,

• Lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.

Since its founding in 2000, the Gates Foundation has donated over $100 billion toward global health, vaccine development, and poverty alleviation. With its current $77 billion endowment and contributions from Gates' personal wealth including proceeds from ventures like TerraPower the foundation will now expand its reach at an unprecedented pace.

In a Financial Times interview, Gates criticized fellow billionaire Elon Musk, alleging that his role in cutting U.S. international aid is “killing the world’s poorest children.” Despite such concerns, Gates expressed optimism in his blog, noting that breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, combined with increased philanthropic investment, can drive transformative progress worldwide.

Gates, currently ranked the fifth-richest person globally with a net worth of $108 billion according to Bloomberg, stated that his wealth will decline by 99% by 2045 as he fulfills his giving pledge. He co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010 alongside Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett to encourage billionaires to donate the majority of their fortunes to charitable causes.

Melinda French Gates, who stepped down from the foundation following their divorce in 2021, has since committed to directing her philanthropic efforts through other channels and has stated she will not allocate most of her wealth through the Gates Foundation.

The announcement coincides with Microsoft’s 50th anniversary. “It feels right that I celebrate the milestone by committing to give away the resources I earned through the company,” Gates wrote.

With this bold pledge, Gates hopes to set a lasting example for other ultra-wealthy individuals: to act now, and at scale, to address the world’s most pressing challenges.