The Gates Foundation sets a deadline
It’s the biggest bet on humanity a philanthropist has ever made: Microsoft founder Bill Gates tells Fortune that he has decided to give “virtually all” of his remaining wealth—about $100 billion—to the Gates Foundation. This is the largest philanthropic commitment in modern history, and it will double the speed of the work the foundation is doing to cure the preventable diseases that affect the poor around the world. The foundation hopes to eradicate or drastically reduce deaths from malaria, polio, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, and to reduce mortality rates for children and women. It comes, however, with a caveat: That work must be completed, and the foundation’s $200 billion (including its current endowment and projected growth) must be spent, in the next 20 years. Then the Gates Foundation will shut its doors for good.
