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 discontinue the operations of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a blog post titled “Gates Notes” published on Thursday, May 8, 2025, he declared his intention to donate nearly all of his fortune—estimated at around $200 billion—to charitable causes.
wrapping up the era of the foundation
on December 31, 2045.
Gates believes that many opinions will emerge regarding him after his passing; however, he is resolute in not being remembered as someone who accumulated great wealth before dying.
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 cease operations indefinitely on December 31, 2045,” he penned.
The cofounder of Microsoft also mentioned that he intends 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
, started the Gates Foundation in 2000, and so far, it has
spent over $100bn on 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 the entity would cease operations some time after our passing. However, a few years back, I started reconsidering this stance.
“Recently, incorporating feedback from our board, I am convinced that we can reach the foundation’s objectives within a tighter timeframe, particularly by intensifying our focus on crucial investments and offering greater assurance to our collaborators,” he remarked.
“I feel profoundly proud of what we’ve achieved in our initial quarter-century,” 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 resources such as vaccines and antiretroviral treatments are obtained and distributed. 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 diarrheal diseases by 75%. Throughout this process, we united various organizations including other foundations, nonprofits, government bodies, international agencies, and businesses to tackle major issues—collaboration we intend to sustain over the coming two decades,” he concluded.
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