Billionaire Bill Gates has pledged to give away his wealth, saying he would eventually “leave” the world’s rich list.
The co-founder of Microsoft announced that he would donate $20bn (£17bn) to his philanthropic fund. The world’s fourth-richest man said he had an “obligation” to return his resources to society.
Mr Gates first pledged to donate his wealth in 2010, but his net worth has more than doubled.
According to Forbes magazine, he is currently worth $118bn, but this will drop significantly after donating to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable fund founded by his ex-wife in 2000.
In a Twitter thread, Mr Gates said the foundation would boost its spending from $6bn a year to $9bn by 2026 due to recent “global setbacks”, including the pandemic, Ukraine and the climate crisis.
“As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” he said. “I will move down and eventually off the list of the world’s wealthiest people.
“I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact on reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up at this moment too.”
The Gates Foundation works in countries to eradicate malaria, improve education, and tackle poor sanitation. It was supposed to be the world’s second-largest charitable foundation in 2020, with assets of $49.8 billion and backed by other wealthy beneficiaries such as billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Although the Foundation has done an excellent job, some have raised concerns about the ethics of a private effort with such a significant impact.
The foundation is the largest private donor to the World Health Organization, second only to the US with its annual donations in 2018. Concerns about this increased after former President Donald Trump threatened to pull US funding.
Mr Gates held the Forbes world’s richest man title between 1995 and 2010 and from 2013 to 2017.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ousted Tesla chief executive Elon Musk from the top spot in 2017 before taking the pole position in 2022.