Bill Gates
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PTI
The Gates Foundation has committed to spending $200 billion over the next 20 years, a decision that marks an acceleration of its work, besides setting a new date of 2045 to sunset its operations, the Foundation said.
The announcement was made in a post by Foundation Chair Bill Gates, and it is the largest philanthropic commitment in modern history, the Foundation said, as it marks its 25th year. The funding pledged exceeds the foundation’s current endowment, with the balance coming over time from Gates’ personal fortune, the note added.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned,” Gates wrote, on giving away virtually all his wealth through the Foundation over the next 20 years.
“The accelerated timeline was affirmed by the foundation’s governing board with a change to the foundation’s charter, which had said the organization would sunset 20 years after Gates’ death,” the note said.
The foundation said its strategies would not change, and that it would work with its partners on three goals – helping end preventable deaths of mothers and babies; ensuring the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases and lifting millions of people out of poverty, putting them on a path to prosperity, the note said.
“Double our giving”
“During the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation—powered in part by the generosity of Warren Buffett—we gave away more than $100 billion,” wrote Gates. “Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045. This figure includes the balance of the endowment and my future contributions,” he said.
Since 2000, the Gates Foundation contributed to saving 82 million lives through its support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Together with its partners, the foundation also helped develop more than 100 innovations, including vaccines, diagnostic tools, and treatments designed to meet the needs of people living in low- and middle-income countries.
Earlier this year, the foundation had announced its largest budget ever, in line with its commitment to reach overall annual distributions of $9 billion next year, it said.
Published on May 10, 2025