Bill Gates to give $ 200 billion in 2045, accused Musk of harming the world’s poor people
Bill Gates promised on Thursday to give almost all of his personal wealth in the next two decades and said the poorest in the world would receive around $ 200 billion through its foundations when governments around the world cut international assistance.
He also attacked Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and key figures in the administration of President Donald Trump, accused him of “killing the poorest children in the world” with great cuts in the United States assistance budget.
“The picture of the richest person in the world that kills the poorest children in the world is not a beautiful one,” Gates told the Financial Times. The Department of Government Efficiency led by Musk has led to the thinning of the US International Development Agency (USAID), which previously provided billions of funding for everything ranging from vaccines for children to emergency food assistance.
Gates and Musk once agreed to the role of the rich in giving money, but since then clashed several times.
Gates said he accelerated his plan to release his wealth and close the Gates Foundation as of December 31, 2045.
“People will say many things about me when I died, but I was determined that ‘he died rich’ would not be one of them,” co-founder and a 69-year-old billionaire writing in a post on his website.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve me to hold resources that can be used to help people.”
In an implicit reprimand against Trump’s assistance since returning to the office in January, Gates said he wanted to help stop newborn babies, children and mothers who were dying due to causes that could be prevented, ending diseases such as polio, malaria and measles, and reducing poverty.
“It is unclear whether the richest countries in the world will continue to defend the poorest people,” added Gates, noting the slaughter of large donors including Britain and France with the United States, the largest donor in the world.
Gates said that apart from the deep pockets of the foundation, progress would not be possible without government support.
He praised the response to the deduction of assistance in Africa, where some governments had re -relocated the budget, but said that for example Polio would not be eradicated without US funds.
Gates made an announcement on the 25th anniversary of the foundation. He founded an organization with his wife Melinda French Gates in 2000, and they later joined investor Warren Buffett.
“I have been traveling long distances since I was a child, starting a software company with my friend from a high school,” he said.
Foundation has given $ 100 billion
From the beginning, the foundation has given $ 100 billion, helping to save millions of lives and supporting initiatives such as Gavi’s vaccine groups and global funds to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
This will be closed after spending about 99% of his personal wealth, said Gates. The founders initially expect the foundation to wrap in a few decades after their death.
Gates, valued at around $ 108 billion today, expects the foundation to spend around $ 200 billion in 2045, with the final figure depending on the market and inflation.
This foundation has become a big player in global health, with an annual budget that will reach $ 9 billion in 2026.
He has faced criticism because of its extraordinary strength and influence in the field without the necessary accountability, including in world health organizations.
Gates himself is also subject to conspiracy theory, especially during Pandemi Covid-19.
Gates has spoken with Trump several times in recent months about the importance of sustainable investment in global health.
“I hope other rich people consider how much they can accelerate progress for the poorest in the world if they increase the speed and scale of their gifts, because it is a way that is very impacting to give back to the community,” Gates wrote.
Source: Reuters
