Health. The Gates Foundation plans to give away more than $200 billion by 2045.

Bill Gates announced Thursday that he will donate most of his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation, which he has set a goal of spending "over $200 billion" by 2045, the date it will close. "A lot can be done in 20 years," the Microsoft co-founder said in an open letter about his foundation, which fights poverty and disease. "I want to make sure the world moves forward during that time."

Since its inception in 2000, the foundation has spent $53.8 billion on various projects, primarily focused on public health, education, and development. At the end of 2024, the Gates Foundation's net assets stood at $71.3 billion. For the current year, it has set a budget of $8.7 billion.

Colossal fortune

In early February, Bill Gates told the BBC that he had already donated more than $100 billion to charities, including about $60 billion to his foundation. Forbes magazine estimates his remaining fortune at around $113 billion.

Divorced from Bill Gates in 2021, Melinda French Gates left the foundation in 2024. Previously known as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit organization was renamed the Gates Foundation. The foundation helps fund the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Polio Initiative (GPEI), and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi). Its endowment was secured through donations from Melinda French Gates, Bill Gates, and entrepreneur Warren Buffett, head of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.

Building on the work he accomplished during his first quarter-century, Bill Gates set three priorities for the foundation's remaining twenty years. It will focus on combating infant mortality, infectious diseases—primarily polio, guinea worm, measles, and malaria—and educational initiatives.

Bill Gates paid tribute to Warren Buffett, who "remains the ultimate model of generosity." "I hope other wealthy individuals realize how much they can improve the lives of the world's poorest people by increasing their giving," Gates said.