Bill Gates has made a shocking announcement: faced with the multiple crises that are shaking the world, the billionaire has decided to gradually bequeath his colossal fortune to his foundation. Will others decide to follow his example?

Bill Gates has made a shocking announcement: faced with the multiple crises that are shaking the world, the billionaire has decided to gradually bequeath his colossal fortune to his foundation. Will others decide to follow his example?

In a series of tweets and in a post on his blogBill Gates, the famous billionaire and former founder of Microsoft, spoke about the various crises that are going through the world. Covid-19, war in Ukraine, global warming… The current context is not conducive to celebrations. This is why Bill Gates has announced that he wants to bequeath his fortune to the foundation he created with his ex-wife, Melinda Gates. A colossal heritage since the billionaire was long considered the richest man in the world, before being supplanted in 2017 by Jeff Bezos (Amazon boss) and Elon Musk (founder of PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX…). This is why it is all the more surprising that he wishes to part with it.

Bill Gates will pay $20 billion to his foundation

“Several major global setbacks in recent years have discouraged many who wonder if the world is destined to get worse,” notes Bill Gates on Twitter. between the pandemic, “one of the greatest setbacks in history”, the war in Ukraine, a “gigantic tragedy for the whole world”and the global warming which is beginning to be seriously felt, the world knows a troubled time. And it’s not the ban on abortion in several states of the United States, following the abolition of the landmark judgment Roe v. wade which guarantees access to abortion throughout the country, which will make us say the opposite.

Despite all this bad news, the billionaire remains “optimistic” when he looks at all that has been accomplished in the past two decades. And he intends to participate in the preservation and improvement of the future. He therefore announces that his Bill & Foundation Melinda Gatescreated in 2000, will increase its investments by 9 billion dollars per year by 2026 – with an increase of 6 billion from 2022. He even plans to pay this month 20 billion dollars to the foundation, from his personal fortune. “Going forward, I plan to donate almost all of my fortune to the foundation. I will go down and eventually disappear from the list of the richest people in the world.”

An ambitious program for the future

This donation aims to advance Humanity towards several rather ambitious objectives:

• Pandemic prevention: it’s about funding research for vaccines that immunize against infections, while finding drugs to curb the emergence of an epidemic, whatever it may be.
• Reduction of infant mortality: Bill Gates intends to continue the fight he had undertaken against malaria, but which the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down.
• Disease eradication: this objective targets in particular poliomyelitis who, although almost thanks to vaccination, remains present in many countries.
• Improving food security: for the billionaire, it is urgent that crops can withstand climate change. One of the first goals is to make Africa an exporter of food, not an importer.
• Achievement of gender equality: he wants to give more power and freedom to women, in particular through access to education, health and contraceptives.
• Improving education: in particular, he wants to add a personalized and engaging program and systems to help students in difficulty.
• “Mitigate” climate change: Bill Gates is realistic and knows that it is impossible to stop climate change, and therefore intends to slow its progress. He wants to do this to focus on the most polluting sectors, such as cement and steel production.

“I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that will have the greatest impact possible to reduce suffering and improve lives. And I hope that others in positions of great wealth and privilege will s ‘will also engage in this moment’, concludes Bill Gates. It remains to be seen whether his call will be heard by other billionaires…