Bill Gates will close his foundation in 2045: why?
9 may 2025 в 16:13
Bill Gates announced that he will close his foundation in 2045. This statement raised many questions, as the organization he created with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates in 2000 is one of the most charitable groups in the world. So why is Bill closing the Gates Foundation in 20 years?
Find out below the reason why Bill is closing his foundation, and learn how this will affect his wealth.
According to Forbes data as of May 2025, Bill’s net worth is $ 113 billion. The founder of Microsoft is recognized as a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution. He even attended the prestigious Harvard University, but dropped out to start his globally successful company.
Over time, Bill gradually stepped back from his role at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy. Eventually, he launched the Gates Foundation with his then-wife Melinda.
In his blog post from May 2025, Bill stated that he is closing his foundation because he does not want to die wealthy. He noted: «There are too many urgent problems that need to be solved for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people».
«People will say a lot about me when I die, but I definitely don’t want 'he died rich' to be one of them», - he wrote. «When I started thinking about how to give away my wealth, I did what I always do when starting a new project: I read a lot of books. I read books about great philanthropists and their foundations to make informed decisions about how to give. And I read books about global health to better understand the issues I wanted to address».
Bill explained how he will gradually decrease his wealth. He wrote: «I will give away almost all of my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years for the benefit of saving and improving lives around the world».
«By accelerating our donations, my hope is that we can put the world on a path to ending preventable deaths of mothers and children and lifting millions of people out of poverty», - Bill concluded. «I believe we can leave the next generation in a better position and better prepared to tackle the next set of challenges».
Bill announced that his foundation will «definitively» close on December 31, 2045.
Bill shares three children with Melinda: Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe
Find out below the reason why Bill is closing his foundation, and learn how this will affect his wealth.
According to Forbes data as of May 2025, Bill’s net worth is $ 113 billion. The founder of Microsoft is recognized as a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution. He even attended the prestigious Harvard University, but dropped out to start his globally successful company.
Over time, Bill gradually stepped back from his role at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy. Eventually, he launched the Gates Foundation with his then-wife Melinda.
In his blog post from May 2025, Bill stated that he is closing his foundation because he does not want to die wealthy. He noted: «There are too many urgent problems that need to be solved for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people».
«People will say a lot about me when I die, but I definitely don’t want 'he died rich' to be one of them», - he wrote. «When I started thinking about how to give away my wealth, I did what I always do when starting a new project: I read a lot of books. I read books about great philanthropists and their foundations to make informed decisions about how to give. And I read books about global health to better understand the issues I wanted to address».
Bill explained how he will gradually decrease his wealth. He wrote: «I will give away almost all of my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years for the benefit of saving and improving lives around the world».
«By accelerating our donations, my hope is that we can put the world on a path to ending preventable deaths of mothers and children and lifting millions of people out of poverty», - Bill concluded. «I believe we can leave the next generation in a better position and better prepared to tackle the next set of challenges».
Bill announced that his foundation will «definitively» close on December 31, 2045.
Bill shares three children with Melinda: Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe
© Artemenko Olga
