Bill Gates sees a multitude of problems in the world that need to be addressed, so he's setting out a plan for his foundation to tackle many of them—and kicking in $20 billion this month to fund the effort. The co-founder of Microsoft issued a statement Wednesday saying the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $9 billion per year on the initiatives, up from $6 billion. The goals of the efforts include preventing pandemics, eradicating disease, addressing climate change, reducing the number of childhood deaths, and reaching gender equality, NBC News reports.
"The pandemic is one of the biggest setbacks in history," Gates tweeted. "The war on Ukraine is a gigantic tragedy for the entire world. The damage from climate change is already worse than most models predicted. The US has taken a huge step backwards for gender equality and women's health." He added, per Axios, "The great crises of our time require all of us to do more." When he and Melinda Gates divorced last year, they promised to donate $15 billion each to the foundation. Warren Buffett has donated a total of $35.7 billion. The foundation says it has spent $79.2 billion since its founding in 2000.
Gates, who remains in the top five of the world's wealthiest people, said he intends to spend himself off that list before long. He expressed the hope that others in "positions of great wealth and privilege" will meet the moment. "My giving this money is not a sacrifice at all," Gates said. "I feel privileged to be involved in tackling these great challenges." (More Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stories.)
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