“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” the 69‑year‑old billionaire told the Financial Times, referring to reductions at the U.S. Agency for International Development ordered by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Foundation to close in 2045
Marking the charity’s 25th anniversary, Gates said he will speed up divestment of his roughly $108 billion fortune and shut the foundation on 31 Dec 2045 after spending 99% of its assets.
Since 2000 the foundation has disbursed $100 billion, backing initiatives such as Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Annual grants are set to rise to $9 billion by 2026, and total outlays could reach about $200 billion by 2045, depending on markets and inflation.
Rebuke to shrinking aid budgets
Gates criticized Trump‑era cuts and reductions by Britain and France, warning that eroding government support threatens efforts to curb diseases like polio, malaria and measles.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,” he wrote on his website.
Call to fellow billionaires
Gates urged other ultra‑rich donors to accelerate giving. “I hope wealthy people consider how much they can speed progress for the world’s poorest,” he said.
The foundation, long influential in global health, has faced scrutiny over its outsized role and conspiracy theories during the COVID‑19 pandemic, but Gates insisted public funding remains vital: “Polio, for example, will not be eradicated without U.S. support.”
(jh)
Source: Reuters, Associated Press, CBS