Bill Gates is donating $20 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this month, as the charitable foundation prepares to ramp up spending.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) was reportedly the second largest charitable foundation in the world, with an endowment of nearly $52 billion. On Wednesday, founder Bill Gates announced that he’d be donating $20 billion more into its endowment, bringing it to $71.9 billion. With that donation, it will eclipse the Novo Nordisk Foundation and become the largest charitable foundation.
BMGF and Novo Nordisk share some goals – specifically, both aim to enhance healthcare access around the world. BMGF also places high priority supporting educational opportunities and reducing overall poverty.
“Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse,” said Gates in a tweet.
“I hope by giving more, we can mitigate some of the suffering people are facing right now and help fulfill the foundation’s vision to give every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life,” Gates also said, in a statement announcing the pledged donation.
BMGF intends to raise its annual spending to $9 billion by 2026, half over again what they spent annually before the pandemic. There are also more places they need to spend that money, having pledged to support global vaccine access and Ukraine’s humanitarian need under the Russian war.
This won’t be Gates’s last massive donation to the foundation.
“As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation. I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people,” he tweeted. “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.”
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