The co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, is giving $20 billion to the charitable organization that he and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, administer in order to enhance its annual contributions. The endowment of the 22-year-old organization is currently close to $70 billion, including Warren Buffett’s bequest of $3.1 billion made last month.
Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change, Gates said that “the great crises of our time will require all of us to do more.”
“As I look to the future, my plan is to give all my wealth to the foundation other than what I spend on myself and my family. I do some giving and investing in U.S. health care issues, including Alzheimer’s, outside the foundation. Through Breakthrough Energy, I will continue to invest and give money to address climate change. Overall I expect that the work in these areas will make money, which will also go to the foundation. I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people,” Gates wrote in his personal blog.
The foundation has the goal of disbursing $9 billion yearly
He continued by stating that due to the crises’ compounding effects, including price increases, the foundation’s top priority areas of health, education, gender equality, and poverty alleviation now required increased investment.
The foundation aims to achieve its new goal of disbursing $9 billion yearly by 2026, a 50% increase from its current rate. The foundation’s endowment now stands at roughly billion, according to the announcement about Gates’ most recent financial contribution. ()
