Billionaire Bill Gates has again pledged to give away his wealth, saying he will leave the world’s richest list.
This happened when the Microsoft co-founder announced that he would make a donation of US$ 20 billion (about R$ 110 billion) to his philanthropic fund.
The world’s fourth richest man said he has an “obligation” to give his resources back to society.
Gates committed to giving away his wealth in 2010, but his net worth has more than doubled since then.
He currently has US$ 118 billion (R$ 641 billion), according to Forbes magazine. But that will drop significantly after the donation he promises to make this month to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable fund he created with his ex-wife in 2000.
On Twitter, Gates said the foundation would increase spending from $6 billion a year to $9 billion by 2026 due to recent “global setbacks” including the pandemic, war in Ukraine and the climate crisis.
“As I look to the future, I intend to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” he said. “I’m going to get off the list of the richest people in the world at some point.
“I have an obligation to return my resources to society in a way that they make the greatest impact to reduce suffering and improve lives. And I hope that others in positions of great wealth and privilege will also speak up at this time.”
The Gates foundation works in countries to eradicate diseases like malaria, improve education and tackle poor sanitation. It was billed as the world’s second-largest charitable foundation as of 2020, with $49.8 billion in assets and backed by other wealthy benefactors such as billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
While the foundation has done a good job, some have raised concerns about the ethics of a private entrepreneur wielding such an influence.
The foundation is the World Health Organization’s largest private donor, second only to the United States with its annual donation in 2018. Concerns over this became more evident after former President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw funding from the United States.
Gates held the Forbes title of richest person in the world from 1995 to 2010 and again from 2013 to 2017.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos knocked it from the top spot in 2017 before Tesla CEO Elon Musk rose to the top in 2022.
– Text originally published here.
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