Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, intends to donate most of his fortune back to society over the coming twenty years and plans to dissolve the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a blog post titled “Gates Notes” on Thursday, May 8, 2025, he declared his intention to donate nearly all of his fortune—estimated at approximately $200 billion—to charitable causes.
wrapping up the masa of the foundation
on December 31, 2045.
Gates believes that many opinions will emerge regarding him once he has passed away; however, he is resolved not to be remembered as someone who amassed great wealth before his death.
There are numerous pressing issues that require attention, so I can’t keep hold of resources that could instead be utilized to assist others.
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“That’s why I’ve chosen to return my fortune to society more quickly than initially intended. Over the coming two decades, I plan to donate nearly all of my wealth via the Gates Foundation for the purpose of enhancing and safeguarding lives globally. The foundation will then cease operations indefinitely on December 31, 2045,” he stated.
The Microsoft co-founder also mentioned that he intended to donate 99% of his fortune by 2045, keeping just 1%, which amounts to approximately $1.6 billion, for himself and his family.
Bill and Melinda’s foundation
The millionaire and his ex-wife,
Melinda French
, initiated the Gates Foundation in 2000, and up until now, it has
invested more than $100 billion in global health
, education, poverty alleviation, vaccine development, medical research, and emergency aid.
This represents a shift from our initial strategy. Back in 2000, when Melinda and I established the Gates Foundation, we incorporated a provision into the organization’s founding document stating that it would cease operations some time after our passing. However, a few years back, I started reconsidering this method.
“Recently, incorporating feedback from our board, I am convinced that we can reach the foundation’s objectives within a reduced timeframe. This is particularly true if we increase focus on significant investments and offer greater stability to our collaborators,” he remarked.
“I feel profoundly proud of what we’ve achieved in our initial 25 years,” Gates remarked, underscoring the foundation’s accomplishments.
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We played a crucial role in establishing Gavi and the Global Fund, organizations that revolutionized how global health initiatives procure and distribute life-saving resources such as vaccines and antiretrovirals. Collectively, these entities have rescued over 80 million lives up until now.
“Working alongside Rotary International, we’ve played a crucial role in rejuvenating efforts to eliminate polio. Our support led to the development of a novel vaccine against rotavirus, which has cut down child deaths due to diarrhea by 75%. Throughout this process, we collaborated with various organizations including other foundations, nonprofits, government bodies, international agencies, and businesses to address major issues—collaboration that we intend to sustain over the coming two decades,” he stated.