Bill Gates excludes children from inheriting billions as he pledges to give away majority of his fortune
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Bill Gates has announced that he’ll give away 99% of his fortune to the Gates Foundation, which he plans to close within the next 20 years.
The immense donation will leave him and his children, Jennifer Gates, 28, Rory Gates, 25, and Phoebe Gates, 22, with only one percent of the wealth.
“It’s kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes,” Bill said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Bill Gates wants others to beat him in his work
“I hope other people wallop me. Even today, there’s probably a dozen people richer than I am, because I don’t count the money that I’ve already got in the foundation. I have just a bit over $100 billion outside of the foundation,” the 69-year-old billionaire said, as per The Associated Press. His current net worth is $168 billion, as per Bloomberg.
He added, “I’d love to be beat in all of this work. Somebody should try and pay more taxes than I did, and save more lives than I did, and give more money than I did, and be smarter than I’ve been.”
Bill, who co-founded the foundation with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates in 2000, also shared that it's “kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes.”
Bill Gates hopes diseases like malaria and polio get eradicated before his foundation shuts down
Over the years, the philanthropist’s foundation has contributed to scientific research, developing new technologies, and fostering long-term partnerships with nations and firms.
About shutting down the foundation by 2045, the Microsoft co-founder said, “I think 20 years is the right balance between giving as much as we can to make progress on these things and giving people a lot of notice that now this money will be gone. It will be spent.”
Revealing his hopes and aspirations, he shared, “Hopefully, many of these diseases are eradicated, so nobody even knows, ‘What was malaria? What was polio?’ in the years ahead. You know, some foundations, if they’ve been around 50 or 60 years, who knows how their work relates to the intent of the person who started that foundation?”
“And I do think there’ll be more rich people in the future than there are today. So yes, it will create a vacuum in 20 years, and we’re letting people know in advance that’s what this will look like,” Bill added.
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Gates Foundation’s CEO talks about 'greater burden' after Bill Gates’ announcement
Meanwhile, the foundation’s CEO Mark Suzman has expressed his own thoughts after Bill Gates’ shock announcement.
He said, “Having that time horizon and the resources just puts an even greater burden on us to say, ‘Are you actually putting your resources, your thumb down, on what are going to be the biggest, most successful bets rather than scattering it too thinly?’” as per The Associated Press.
Bill estimates his foundation will be able to hand out $200 million between now and 2045.
