Gates pointed toward the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, setbacks in gender equality and women’s health, climate change and Russia’s war on Ukraine as some of the major issues currently facing the world.
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates is donating $20 billion to the charitable foundation run by him and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates to boost its annual distributions.
The donation will help the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – one of the world’s largest private charitable foundations – increase its annual payout by 50% to $9 billion by 2026, he said in a post on his personal blog on Wednesday.
“The great crises of our time require all of us to do more,” Gates said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change, among others. He added that the compounding effects of crises, which include surging inflation, had increased the need to invest more in the foundation’s core focus areas of health, education, gender equality and poverty alleviation.
“Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse,” the Microsoft co-founder, who is the world’s fourth richest person, said in a tweet.
Gates pointed toward the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, setbacks in gender equality and women’s health, climate change and Russia’s war on Ukraine as some of the major issues currently facing the world.
“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 said in a statement announcing the pledge.
