Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has disclosed intentions to give away nearly all of his $200bn wealth, leaving only one per cent for himself, as he shuts down the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Microsoft co-founder stated on Thursday in a post on his personal blog, Gates Notes, that the foundation, which is considered to be among the most significant charitable organisations globally, will close its doors by December 31, 2045.
“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.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,” he said.
He added, “That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned. I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world. And on December 31, 2045, the foundation will close its doors permanently.”
No mother or child should die from a preventable cause. No generation should live in fear of deadly infectious diseases. And no one should be denied the chance to thrive because of where they were born. https://t.co/JI88PJC4yW
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 8, 2025
We have an opportunity to save more lives around the world than ever before—and I want to do even more to help. That’s why I’m giving away virtually all of my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years. pic.twitter.com/Z5o6ggWYGz
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 8, 2025
In a chart shared in the blog post, Gates revealed that he plans to give away 99 per cent of his wealth by 2045, leaving just one per cent, or about $1.6bn, for himself and his family.
Founded in 2000 with his now ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, the foundation has spent over $100bn on global health, education, and poverty alleviation, helping to fund vaccine development, medical research, and emergency aid around the world
Gates said that the Gates Foundation will “permanently” close its doors on Dec. 31, 2045 — a change of plans, given that the organization was originally supposed to shut down several decades after Gates and his ex-wide Melinda were dead.
Gates said that he now believes that the foundation’s goals can be reached on a shorter timeline, with plans to give away more than $200 billion to charity between now and 2045.
As for where that money will go, the foundation’s main goals will be to end preventable deaths of mothers and babies, eradicate deadly infectious diseases, as well as lift “millions” of people out of poverty.
