Bill Gates announces he's giving away most of his $200,000,000,000 wealth as he rips into Elon Musk
Gates rips into Musk, pledging his own fortunes in response
Bill Gates definitely knows how to put his money where his mouth is, as a recent interview with the Microsoft founder has revealed that he's planning to give away most of his $200,000,000,000 fortune before he dies, alongside a few jabs at fellow billionaire Elon Musk.
The Gates Foundation - created by Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda - has become the Microsoft founder's primary focus since stepping away from the tech company, and he has given away large parts of his extraordinary wealth as a part of it all.
While he has also extended his generosity to Reddit secret santa presents, the Gates Foundation only recently revealed that its founders have given away more than $100,000,000,000 since the charity was formed 25 years ago, working out at $40,000,000 on average per year.
Much like Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, who has given away vast sums of her multi-billion dollar net worth, Gates has outlined his desire to donate the majority of his staggering $200,000,000,000 net worth to charity before he dies, as reported by NBC News.
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"People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them," Gates boldly proclaimed in a statement on the Gates Foundation website, adding that "there are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people."
Gates has remained optimistic that advancements in artificial intelligence could help solve certain issues that are plaguing the world, and potentially even dramatically reduce the number of hours people have to work every week, but recent developments in the US government have prompted him to increase his efforts now.
In particular, Gates highlighted the efforts of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claiming that cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will lead to the death of children worldwide, which has also been echoed by one former USAID Ebola prevention lead.
"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," Gates outlined in an interview with the Financial Times. "I'd love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money."
This is far from the first time that Gates has clashed with Musk too, having branded his far-right politics as 'insane s***' after Musk pledged his support for German political party AfD, and Musk himself has claimed that the Microsoft founder could go bankrupt if Tesla stock rises.
Gates clearly feels as if he needs to plug a gap that has been now left by the Trump administration, and is willing to use the vast majority of his net worth to do so over the next two decades.
"Over the next twenty years, the Gates Foundation will aim to save and improve as many lives as possible," outlines the aforementioned statement on the Foundation's website. "By accelerating our giving, my hope is we can put the world on a path to ending preventable deaths of moms and babies and lifting millions of people out of poverty."
Gates also added that "a lot can happen over the course of twenty years. I want to make sure the world moves forward during that time. The clock starts now - and I can't wait to make the most of it."