Bill Gates is nearing the end of his life and wants to leave an indelible mark. Not in the IT and business fields, where he has already achieved the most a man could aspire to in order to go down in history with his Microsoft epic. For several years now, his goal has been to help the disadvantaged, those who suffer, and those who do not have the opportunity to live a dignified life.

This is philanthropy, and old Bill has been doing it for many years. So much so that he created the Gates Foundation, together with his ex-wife Melinda. To get an idea, suffice it to say that it is the richest and most influential private foundation in the world.

In 25 years of activity, it has contributed over $100 billion to support various health and educational initiatives, which it is ready to accelerate shortly.

The future of the Bill Gates Foundation

In announcing his plans, Gates said he would make 99% of his wealth available to the foundation (leaving the remaining 1% to his children), so that around $200 billion could be donated over the next twenty years. The new roadmap calls for the foundation to close on 31 December 2045, rather than twenty years after Gates’ death, as originally planned.

The change of plan stems from a desire to tackle urgent problems in contemporary society, not only by funding projects but also by encouraging other billionaires to embrace the cause. “There are too many serious problems to solve for me to hold on to resources that could be used to help people,” explained the 69-year-old co-founder of Microsoft.

That is why the available budget for 2026 has been increased to $9 billion. This will be invested in programmes dedicated to the three priorities identified by the Gates Foundation: child mortality, infectious diseases (polio, measles, and, malaria) and education.

These are areas in which the foundation has been active for decades, but which can now achieve significant results in a short time with adequate financial resources.

Harsh criticism of Musk

Gates’ acceleration comes at a difficult time for humanitarian aid, as several rich and powerful countries have decided to cut funding for growth and assistance programmes in the world’s poorest areas. The reference is to France, the United Kingdom and above all, the United States, where Gates points the finger at Elon Musk.

“The image of the richest man in the world killing the poorest children on the planet is not a pleasant one. I would like him to meet the children who are living with HIV today because he has decided to cut those funds,” Gates told the Financial Times.

The reference is to Musk’s actions as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has minimised the staff and resources of USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, which has been providing humanitarian aid in various countries since 1961.

‘In the next 4-6 years, millions of people will die because of funding cuts,’ Gates said, noting how this decision could lead to the return of diseases and viruses (such as HIV) that have been almost completely eradicated over the years.

To better explain the damage and waste caused by Musk’s withdrawal, Gates said that the funding cuts leave large quantities of medicines and food in warehouses, where they are destined to expire without being used.

Added to this are mistakes, some of them serious, such as the suspension of funding to a hospital in the province of Gaza, Mozambique, mistakenly believed to be in the Gaza Strip, and funds potentially delivered to Hamas.

In reality, money is needed in Mozambique to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to their children, but the programme supporting around 350,000 people has been suddenly halted due to a lack of funds.

Philanthropy

Beyond the accusations levelled at Musk, Bill Gates is an example to follow in order to improve the world. Faced with a society in which the inequality of resources is becoming increasingly clear, with very few multi-billionaires and a constant increase in the number of poor people (even in the most industrialised countries), it is clear that it is the richest who must take care of the weakest.

“Philanthropy can change the world,” Gates has said many times, even if it cannot bridge the gap opened up by the cuts in international aid decided by several countries. Much more can be done than is being done today, however, and we must start somewhere to try to straighten out a world that needs greater equity and balance in the distribution of resources.

The hope, therefore, is that the super-rich will reflect on where our society is heading and what kind of world they want to leave to future generations. Perhaps they can write their names in history also and above all for having helped to improve the living conditions of the less fortunate. That would be the best reason to be remembered.