Bill Gates, Microsoft’s cofounder, declared on Thursday a quicker schedule for donating his wealth, emphasizing how artificial intelligence could be revolutionary in enhancing global public health and saving lives.
According to a revised schedule, the Gates Foundation intends to allocate over $200 billion over the coming two decades, concluding operations in 2045. Initially, the foundation was slated to wind down twenty years following Bill Gates’ passing.
The announcement was made as Gates targeted another tech mogul, Elon Musk.
The CEO of Tesla enforced severe reductions at the US Agency for International Development due to Musk not attending a party that weekend, according to Gates’ remarks to the New York Times, which seemed like a criticism aimed at Musk’s personal life.
Bill Gates ranks at number 13 on the Forbes “real-time” billionaires list, boasting a net worth of $112.6 billion. Elon Musk leads the chart with a fortune of $383.2 billion.
At 69 years old, Gates shared a graph illustrating his wealth decreasing by 99 percent within two decades through a blog post detailing this change. He mentioned accelerating the rate of charitable contributions twofold.
“People will have many things to say about me after my death, but I am resolved that ‘he passed away wealthy’ shall not be among those statements,” Gates penned.
In the year 2000, when Bill Gates relinquished his role as CEO at Microsoft, he also co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife. Fast forward to 2024, where following their separation, Melinda French Gates decided to part ways from the organization three years post their split.
By the close of 2023, this entity boasted over $71 billion in assets and has been recognized for transforming the landscape of international public health.
The list includes five offices across Africa along with sites in the United States, Europe, China, India, and the Middle East.
Gates pointed out advancements in health initiatives such as programs aimed at eradicating polio and the development of a new rotavirus vaccine. This breakthrough has contributed to reducing child deaths caused by diarrhea by 75 percent annually.
Apart from the Gates Foundation, the former Microsoft head stated his intention to keep providing financial support for projects aimed at increasing access to inexpensive energy and advancing groundbreaking research into Alzheimer’s disease.
– Not a ‘lifetime’ base –
In his blog post, Gates acknowledged the influence of the 19th-century American steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, whose foundation continues to operate today.
However, Gates informed The New York Times that he did not intend to establish a “permanent” foundation driven by some odd sense of legacy. Instead, he preferred allocating billions more to capitalize on developing technologies.
“The tools are incredibly impressive,” he stated regarding the possibilities of AI in global health.
“All the intelligence will reside within the AI, giving each individual access to a personal physician as competent as one employed full-time—this service could even surpass what wealthy nations offer,” Gates stated to the New York Times.
Although private foundations have significant capabilities, Gates emphasized the indispensable nature of governmental involvement, lamenting substantial reductions in budgets from the United States, Britain, France, and various other nations.
“It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people. But the one thing we can guarantee is that, in all of our work, the Gates Foundation will support efforts to help people and countries pull themselves out of poverty,” he wrote.
The actions have encompassed the attack on USAID by Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Gates described the reductions as “stunning,” much harsher than anticipated.
Gates informed the New York Times that Musk was “the person who slashed the USAID budget,” adding that he “threw it into the woodchipper.”
During an interview with the Financial Times, Gates mocked Musk for his apparent mix-up between Gaza Province in Mozambique and the Gaza Strip in the Middle East, which occurred when the Trump administration was targeting certain programs.
“The image of the planet’s wealthiest individual extinguishing the lives of those from the least fortunate backgrounds is far from appealing,” Gates stated during an interview with the Financial Times when referring to Musk.
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Bill Gates accelerates his philanthropy efforts, criticizes Musk
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