Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced plans on Thursday to give away 99 percent of his wealth and to close the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by December 31, 2045.

The move marks a major shift in the future of one of the world’s most prominent philanthropic organizations.

Gates, 69, stated he intends to distribute “virtually all” of his estimated $200 billion fortune over the next two decades, retaining just one percent — approximately $1.62 billion — for himself and his family.

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He shares three adult children — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — with his former wife, Melinda French Gates. They are expected to inherit the remaining personal funds not included in the foundation’s giving plan.

“It’s kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes,” Gates said of the decision.

He noted that setting a 20-year deadline would allow for strategic and accelerated impact, while also giving stakeholders and beneficiaries sufficient time to prepare for the foundation’s closure.

“I think 20 years is the right balance between giving as much as we can to make progress on these things and giving people a lot of notice that now this money will be gone,” he said.

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The Gates Foundation, established in 2000 by Gates and Melinda French Gates, has committed over $100 billion to global health, education, and anti-poverty efforts.

The foundation has long been a dominant force in global aid, wielding influence through its funding of research, vaccine development, and international health programs.

The organization’s funding has come primarily from Gates himself, as well as longtime contributor Warren Buffett, who has pledged to donate over 99 percent of his own estimated $160 billion fortune.

The foundation currently plans to maintain a $9 billion annual budget during its final 20 years — a substantial increase from the approximately $6 billion it would have spent annually had it continued indefinitely.

We have an opportunity to save more lives around the world than ever before—and I want to do even more to help. That’s why I’m giving away virtually all of my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years. pic.twitter.com/Z5o6ggWYGz

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 8, 2025

Melinda French Gates stepped away from the foundation in June 2024 to focus on her own philanthropic initiative, Pivotal Ventures, which centers on projects aimed at supporting women and girls.

She commented on the timeline change, saying, “The timeline was Bill’s decision to make with the board of trustees.”

Gates said the decision to accelerate the foundation’s closure reflects an urgency to make progress while he remains actively involved.

“If we were trying to be a forever foundation, instead of being able to spend $9 billion a year, we’d have to drop down to spending like $6 billion a year,” he told The New York Times Magazine.

The announcement comes in the midst of significant changes to U.S. foreign aid policy.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the newly created Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk.

Bill Gates: “DOGE will cost 2M lives” pic.twitter.com/yJopmVZTIs

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 8, 2025

Gates has been openly critical of that decision, arguing that private philanthropy cannot fill the void left by USAID, which previously oversaw over $44 billion in aid programs annually across more than 100 countries.

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times, referencing reports of expired food supplies following the agency’s shutdown.

In addition to the dismantling of USAID, Gates has also criticized the Trump administration’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic, as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates was a vocal proponent of vaccine distribution and funding public health efforts globally.

Gates maintained that although the foundation’s giving will rise during its final two decades, no private effort could fully compensate for the end of large-scale government aid initiatives.

“We will continue to support the nonprofits we believe in,” he said, “but this is a private foundation, and this is how I’ve chosen to use my wealth.”

The Gates Foundation’s conclusion in 2045 will mark the end of a major chapter in global philanthropy.

As its spending increases over the coming years, Gates said he hopes the impact will last long after the foundation ceases operations.

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