Bill Gates has announced an accelerated timeline for winding down the Gates Foundation, which will now spend over $200 billion and close by 2045, 20 years earlier than originally planned. In doing so, Gates emphasized the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to improve global health outcomes, while also taking aim at Elon Musk for reportedly influencing deep foreign aid cuts based on personal whims.

Gates mocked Musk’s role in slashing the US Agency for International Development budget, telling The New York Times that the cuts happened simply because Musk "didn't go to a party that weekend." Gates, currently ranked 13th on Forbes' real-time billionaire list with a net worth of $112.6 billion, contrasted with Musk’s top ranking at $383.2 billion.

In a blog post announcing the foundation’s new direction, the 69-year-old shared a chart projecting a 99% drop in his personal wealth over the next two decades and declared a doubling of his rate of giving.

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

"People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them," he wrote on X.

Founded in 2000, the Gates Foundation has grown into a global public health leader with over $71 billion in assets and offices across multiple continents. Melinda French Gates departed the organization in 2024 following her divorce from Bill Gates.

Rejecting a 'forever' legacy for immediate impact

Gates emphasized success in health initiatives, such as polio eradication campaigns and the development of a new rotavirus vaccine, which has helped lower the number of children dying from diarrhea by 75% each year.

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Separate from the Gates Foundation, the Microsoft founder stated that he intends to continue sponsoring programs to provide access to inexpensive energy and breakthrough research into Alzheimer's disease.

Gates cited the words of 19th-century US steel mogul Andrew Carnegie in his blog post. Carnegie's foundation is still in operation today.

However, Gates told The New York Times that he had no intention of establishing a "forever" foundation based on "some weird legacy thing," preferring to invest billions more to capitalize on developing technology.

"The tools are so phenomenal," he remarked of artificial intelligence's promise in global health.

"All the intelligence will be in the AI, and so you will have a personal doctor that's as good as somebody who has a full-time dedicated doctor -- that's actually better than even what rich countries have," Gates told the NYT.

Gates slams Musk over foreign aid cuts and global confusion

While private foundations may accomplish a lot, Gates highlighted the government's role as critical, blaming substantial budget cuts in the United States, Britain, France, and other nations.

"It's unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people. But the one thing we can guarantee is that, in all of our work, the Gates Foundation will support efforts to help people and countries pull themselves out of poverty," he added.

Bill Gates sharply criticized Elon Musk for orchestrating deep cuts to USAID through what Musk dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency under Donald Trump's administration, calling the reductions "stunning" and far beyond expectations.

Musk "slashed the USAID budget," Gates told The New York Times.  "He put it in the wood chipper."

In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Gates mocked Musk for confusing the Gaza Province in Mozambique with Gaza in the Middle East, as the administration targeted foreign aid programs.

"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," Gates said.