Bill Gates Unveils Radical Plan to Give Away Nearly All His Billions—But What’s Driving This Bold Move?

Is philanthropy the new midlife crisis? I mean, most people splurge on a sportscar, take up pottery, maybe even get a questionable tattoo after retirement – but Bill Gates? He’s just pledged to give away almost his entire $200 billion fortune over the next two decades, all while the rest of us argue about whether giving up avocado toast might get us a mortgage. The Microsoft co-founder has already channeled $100 billion through the Gates Foundation – and he’s just getting warmed up, aiming to double that before closing the charity’s doors for good on December 31, 2045. What compels someone to spend their encore years fighting global poverty instead of, say, learning pickleball or binge-watching documentaries about quantum physics? Maybe Gates knows something about happiness the rest of us missed in the Terms & Conditions. Dive into the full story behind this staggering act of generosity, family choices, legacy, and a side order of billionaire beef with Elon Musk—because apparently saving the world isn’t quite as simple as hitting “donate.” LEARN MORE

Bill Gates just announced that he plans to give away $200 billion, which is almost his entire fortune.

The Microsoft founder, 69, has revealed just why he hopes ‘to give away virtually all my wealth’ in the next two decades.

Back in 2000, the Gates Foundation was founded by Gates and his now ex-wife Melinda Gates, who started off with a mission to reduce global poverty and healthcare services.

Taking to his website on Thursday (8 May), Gates said it has already given away $100 billion, making it the third largest charity in the world.

However, Gates made the shock admission that the foundation plans to ‘double our giving’ over the next 20 years.

“I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world,” he wrote.

“And on December 31, 2045, the foundation will close its doors permanently.”

How did Bill Gates amass his fortune?

Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen back in 1975. When he floated the revolutionary tech company on the stock market back in 1986, it made him a millionaire at the age of 30.

In 1999, he became the world’s first centibillionaire, which is someone who has a net worth of $100 billion or more.

If Gates had held onto his Microsoft stock, he could be a trillionaire by now, but he instead chose to sell his stock to fund his philanthropic work.

Why won’t Bill Gates leave his wealth to his children?

Gates and his ex-wife Melinda share three children: Jennifer, 30, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.

He has been adamant they will only inherit a very small portion of his wealth.

He told Raj Shamni on his podcast Figuring Out: “My kids got a great upbringing and education, but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favour to them.

“You know, it’s not a dynasty. I’m not asking them to run Microsoft.”

What will the Gates Foundation spend the Microsoft founder’s money on?

Gates noted that he has now reached ‘retirement age’, but to spend his ‘days playing pickleball’ wasn’t for him.

Instead, his work with the foundation, which ‘aims to save and improve as many lives as possible’, keeps him motivated.

“By accelerating our giving, my hope is we can put the world on a path to ending preventable deaths of moms and babies and lifting millions of people out of poverty,” he added.

Bill Gates said the Gates Foundation has already given away $100 billion (Christophe Viseux / COP28 via Getty Images)

“I believe we can leave the next generation better off and better prepared to fight the next set of challenges.”

Gates’ top three objectives over the next 20 years are:

· No mom, child, or baby dies of a preventable cause

· The next generation grows up in a world without deadly infectious diseases

· Hundreds of millions of people break free from poverty, putting more countries on a path to prosperity

Amid such a donation, Gates admits that ‘none of this progress is possible without partnership from governments’.

He said the United States, United Kingdom, France are just some of the countries ‘cutting their aid budgets by tens of billions of dollars’.

Microsoft, now with a 3.28 trillion market cap, was founded on 4 April 1975, by Bill Gates (Doug Wilson/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

“And no philanthropic organisation—even one the size of the Gates Foundation—can make up the gulf in funding that’s emerging right now.”

Bill Gates slams Elon Musk

In a recent interview with FT, Gates criticised Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency for cutting their aid.

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” he said.

Gates claimed that Musk had cancelled grants to a hospital in Gaza Province, Mozambique, which prevents women transmitting HIV to their babies.

He alleged that it was believed that the US was supplying condoms to Hamas in Gaza in the Middle East.

“I’d love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money,” Gates added.

LADbible Group has contacted Elon Musk’s representatives for comment.