Marking its 25th anniversary, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced it will double its spending and commit more than $200 billion over the next 20 years to accelerate global progress in health, poverty reduction, and education, before permanently closing its doors in 2045. The decision, revealed by foundation chair Bill Gates, represents the largest philanthropic pledge in modern history and signals a new era of urgency for the world’s most influential private charity.
In a statement, Gates explained the inspiration behind the accelerated timeline: “There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned. I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.”
The foundation’s board has amended its charter, which previously called for operations to continue for 20 years after Gates’ death, to now sunset the organization by December 31, 2045. The $200 billion commitment far exceeds the foundation’s current endowment, with the additional funds to come from Gates’ personal fortune.
While the foundation’s core strategies will remain unchanged, the next 20 years will focus on three primary goals: ending preventable deaths of mothers and babies, ensuring the next generation grows up free from deadly infectious diseases and lifting millions out of poverty and onto a path to prosperity.
Since its founding in 2000, the Gates Foundation has already spent more than $100 billion, contributing to halving child mortality, reducing deaths from infectious diseases, and helping hundreds of millions escape poverty. Its support for organizations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has been credited with saving 82 million lives.
The announcement comes at a time of stagnating or declining global health funding, with governments worldwide slashing aid budgets. Gates acknowledged that even the foundation’s unprecedented resources cannot fill the widening gap left by public sector cutbacks, but he remains optimistic about the impact of philanthropy when combined with scientific breakthroughs and global partnerships.
“The needs at this time are greater than any we’ve seen in the lifetime of the foundation, but the achievements of the past 25 years have shown that tremendous progress is still possible,” said Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO. “That’s why, in the next two decades, working in close collaboration with our partners, we’ll deploy these new innovations and apply 25 years of learnings and progress to making an even bigger difference.”
The 20-year timeline also allows the foundation to focus on strengthening the broader philanthropic ecosystem, ensuring that institutions and partnerships it has helped build can continue to thrive after its closure.
Gates’ decision is rooted in a family tradition of philanthropy and a belief in the moral obligation to give back. “People will express various opinions about my legacy when I pass away, but I am resolute that ‘he died wealthy’ will not be among them,” Gates wrote. “There are far too many pressing issues to tackle for me to retain assets that could assist others.”
With this historic commitment, the Gates Foundation is poised to shape the next two decades of global health and development-before closing its doors as a testament to the power of focused, time-bound philanthropy.
