Bill Gates Reveals Plans to Donate Nearly All $200 Billion Fortune and Shut Down Foundation

On Thursday, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced his intention to give away “virtually all” of his estimated $200 billion net worth.

The 69-year-old stated he aims to distribute his wealth within 20 years before closing the Gates Foundation, which he established with his ex-wife, Melinda, on December 31, 2045.

Gates mentioned that his net worth will decrease by approximately 99% over the next two decades.

He decided to give away his wealth after witnessing the positive effects of his foundation's vaccine distribution for treatable diseases that still claim lives in developing countries, like diarrhea and pneumonia. He said the choice was also influenced by a slowdown in progress as the US and Europe reduced foreign aid and humanitarian support amid the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.

He emphasized that he won’t miss his multi-billion-dollar fortune at all.

“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,” Gates wrote in a statement. “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.”

Bill Gates and his former wife started their foundation in 2000, planning for it to continue its work for many years after they passed away. The foundation is one of the biggest in the world and has already given away more than $100 billion since it began.

On Thursday, the foundation called the latest announcement the “largest gift to charity in modern history.” More than half of the money given out so far has come from Gates’ Microsoft fortune, while 41% came from Warren Buffett.

In 2021, the foundation underwent major changes when Gates and Melinda divorced and Buffett stepped down as a trustee.