Bill Gates promises to drop off the worlds richest list
Bill Gates, the billionaire, has committed to give his wealth away once more, adding that he will ultimately “drop off” the world’s rich list.
It occurred as the Microsoft co-founder announced a $20 billion (£17 billion) donation to his nonprofit organisation.
The world’s fourth richest man stated that he had a “responsibility” to give back to society.
Mr Gates committed to give up his fortune in 2010, but his fortune has about doubled since then.
According to Forbes magazine, he is presently worth $118 billion, although that figure will drop dramatically following his July commitment to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic foundation he established with his ex-wife in 2000.
Although the foundation bears our names, basically half our resources have come from Warren Buffett. His incredible generosity is a huge reason why the foundation has been able to be so ambitious. I can never adequately express how much I appreciate his friendship and guidance. pic.twitter.com/at7MvJKxQv
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) July 13, 2022
Mr Gates stated in a Twitter thread that the foundation’s investment will be increased from $6 billion to $9 billion by 2026 owing to recent “global setbacks” such as the pandemic, Ukraine, and the climate crisis.
“As time goes on,” he stated, “I want to donate nearly all of my money to the foundation.” I’ll eventually fall off the ranking of the world’s richest individuals. “I owe it to humanity to reinvest my money in approaches that will have the biggest impact on reducing pain and improving people’s lives.” And I hope that those with significant wealth and influence will also speak out at this time.”
The Gates Foundation works in developing nations to eliminate illnesses like malaria, boost education, and address inadequate sanitation. It is expected to be the world’s second largest charity foundation in 2020, with $49.8 billion in assets, and is supported by affluent donors such as billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Although the foundation has done wonderful work, others have expressed reservations about the ethics of a private endeavour having such power.
With its yearly commitment in 2018, the foundation is the World Health Organization’s largest private donor, trailing only the United States. Concerns over this grew when previous President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw US financing.
Mr Gates held the Forbes rank of World’s Richest Person from 1995 to 2010, and then again from 2013 to 2017.
In 2017, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pushed him off the top rank, until Tesla CEO Elon Musk took over in 2022.
