Bill Gates pledges to give away nearly all wealth by 2045, blasts Elon Musk for ‘killing world’s poorest’

Bill Gates announced on Thursday (May 8) that he plans to give away almost his entire personal fortune over the next two decades, pledging that his foundation will distribute around $200 billion to aid the world’s poorest. The move comes as international aid budgets face severe cuts by major donor governments.

Criticism of Elon Musk and US aid cuts

In a sharp criticism of Elon Musk and the current US administration under President Donald Trump, Bill Gates accused Musk of devastating consequences for vulnerable populations.

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times, referring to drastic reductions in the US aid budget led by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Gates highlighted that the cuts have severely weakened the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has historically provided funding for critical health and humanitarian programs worldwide.

“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,” Gates said in a statement marking the Gates Foundation’s 25th anniversary.

Foundation to wind down by 2045

Gates confirmed that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will close on December 31, 2045, after spending about 99% of his fortune. “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote on his website.

The foundation, established in 2000 with his then-wife Melinda French Gates, has so far donated $100 billion, supporting life-saving initiatives such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Urgent global health goals

Gates emphasised his commitment to addressing key global health challenges despite setbacks from donor nations. “It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,” he warned, citing recent aid cuts from Britain, France, and the US.

He stressed the importance of government partnerships, saying, “Polio will not be eradicated without US funding.”

Call for more philanthropy

Gates urged fellow billionaires to consider accelerating their charitable giving. “I hope other wealthy people consider how much they can accelerate progress for the world’s poorest if they increased the pace and scale of their giving, because it is such a profoundly impactful way to give back to society,” he wrote.