Billionaire businessman Bill Gates repeated his promise to donate his wealth and said he would eventually “fall” from the world’s rich list.
The co-founder of Microsoft announced that he will donate $20 billion to the foundation he founded with his ex-wife.
Gates, who is fourth in the list of the richest people in the world, said he has an “obligation” to return his resources to society.
The American businessman first pledged to donate his wealth in 2010, but his net worth has more than doubled since then.
According to Forbes magazine, Gates’ net worth is $118 billion.
However, Gates’ fortune will dwindle significantly after his July donation to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he founded with his ex-wife in 2000.
Gates, in a statement on his Twitter account, said that due to recent global problems such as the pandemic, the Ukraine war and the climate crisis, the foundation will increase its expenses from $ 6 billion to $ 9 billion annually until 2026:
“As I look to the future, I plan to give almost all of my wealth to the foundation. I will go down the list of the richest people in the world and eventually fall.
“I have an obligation to give back my resources to society in the most effective ways to reduce suffering and improve lives. I hope others of great wealth and privilege will also step up to this point.”
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; It works in various countries to eradicate diseases such as malaria, improve education and combat poor health conditions.
The foundation is believed to be the world’s second largest charity with $49.8 billion in assets in 2020, and other wealthy people, such as billionaire investor Warren Buffett, also donate to the foundation.
But some concerns are also expressed about how ethical a private initiative with such a large impact is.
The foundation is the second largest private donor after the USA, with its annual donation to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018. Concerns about this became even more pronounced after former President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw US funds.
Gates was the richest person in the world from 1995-2010 to 2013-2017, according to Forbes.
In 2017, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, topped the list of the richest people in the magazine.