Bill Gates, as per media reports, is believed to have bequeathed $20 billion of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Foundation, which is boosting itself to counter global challenges like the pandemic and aiding the wartime devastation in Ukraine. The Bill and Melinda Foundation has invested in the welfare of global health, gender equality, and education as well as other issues, a CNN report said.
Being the world’s largest beneficiaries, the Bill and Melinda Foundation aims at attaining an increment in its payouts by 50 per cent over pre-pandemic levels, from around $6 billion to $9 billion each year by 2026.
Though the couple declared the news of their separation in May 2021, Bill and Melinda function as co-chairs in the foundation with each other as stated in the two-year trial period of their divorce. Both, the Microsoft co-founder and his ex-wife agreed to donate a portion of their wealth to the foundation. After the trial ends, Melinda will be granted the opportunity to renounce the foundation and acquire a payout from her ex-husband, who will continue to oversee the foundation.
Bill Gates in a blog stated, “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.” He continues to blog, “I have an obligation to return my sources to society in ways that have the greatest impact on improving lives. I hope others in positions of greatest wealth and privilege will step up at this moment too.”
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Bill Gates gained most of his wealth from being attached to Microsoft shares, ranking him as the world’s fourth richest person. But as Gates expressed in his blog, he has no intentions to rank high forever.
