The $200 Billion Gamble: Bill Gates’s Plan to Wind Down His Foundation

Katy Grannan for The New York Times

By David Wallace-Wells | Adapted from The New York Times | May 8, 2025

In a comprehensive interview, he discusses his decision to hasten the conclusion of his philanthropy in response to the Trump administration’s attack on foreign aid.

The $200 Billion Countdown: Bill Gates’s Plan to Close His Foundation

After 25 years reshaping global health and development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is winding down — and planning to spend more than $200 billion in its final two decades. Bill Gates announced this bold move with the confidence that its central goals can now be reached faster than ever before.

The foundation, found in 2000 by Bill and Melinda French Gates, has invested over $100 billion into global health, helping slash child mortality and combat diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS. But by Dec. 31, 2045, it will close permanently — decades earlier than originally intended.

Gates says the decision is both pragmatic and hopeful. “We’re going all in,” he explains, citing breakthroughs in AI and biomedical science that could supercharge progress. Yet it comes at a precarious time: foreign aid is collapsing, most notably due to deep cuts by Donald Trump’s administration, including an 80% reduction to U.S.A.I.D. and threats to PEPFAR, potentially resulting in millions of additional child deaths by 2030.

Global giving, once inspired by the Gates-led Giving Pledge, has slowed. Effective Altruism rose in its place but shifted focus away from immediate humanitarian needs. And many of today’s ultra-wealthy, like Elon Musk, are far less invested in global poverty or disease.

Despite the grim backdrop — from rising child mortality to pandemic aftershocks and debt crises in poor nations — Gates remains unwaveringly optimistic. “It’s very dangerous to suggest this work is played out,” he says, stressing that innovation and commitment can still transform lives. But he also warns that without renewed focus, millions more could suffer.

For Gates, this final philanthropic sprint is a moral imperative. “It’s criminal not to solve TB or HIV,” he says. “We’ve made ourselves necessary. Now we want to make ourselves obsolete.”

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