Bill Gates donates US$20 billion to his foundation, says he plans to ‘give away all my wealth’ in future
- The Microsoft co-founder says he will move down and eventually off the list of the world’s richest people, on which he currently holds fourth place
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s new goal is to distribute US$9 billion annually by 2026, ramping up 50 per cent from its current rate
Bill Gates is donating US$20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this month as the philanthropic behemoth plans to speed up its pace of giving.
“I hope by giving more, we can mitigate some of the suffering people are facing right now and help fulfil the foundation’s vision to give every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life,” Gates said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation. I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people,” the world’s fourth-richest person added in a tweet.
The foundation’s new goal of distributing US$9 billion annually, which it aims to accomplish by 2026, is a 50 per cent increase from its current rate. Gates’s latest infusion of cash brings the foundation’s total endowment to about US$70 billion, according to the statement.
Following their tumultuous divorce last year, the foundation’s namesake billionaires jointly committed US$15 billion to the Seattle-based organisation, which Gates’s most recent contribution would fully cover.