Microsoft co-founder and the world’s fifth richest person Bill Gates has recently donated shares worth over $6 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates’, with a fortune of $112 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, exit from the list doesn’t seem to be a thing soon as he still holds the fifth position on the list, beneath only Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, and Gautam Adani.
According to Business Insider, the co-founder of Microsoft gave his foundation shares in the Canadian National Railway Company worth approximately $5.2 billion.
The 66-year-old’s donation spree shouldn’t be a great shock because the philanthropist has already hinted to his followers about what’s coming next. On Twitter last week, Gates promised to remove himself from the list of the world’s richest individuals by donating “virtually all” of his wealth to the charitable foundation.
“With the support and guidance of our board, we plan to increase our spending from nearly $6 billion per year today to $9 billion per year by 2026. To help make this spending increase possible, I am transferring $20 billion to the foundation’s endowment this month,” the businessman said in a tweet thread on July 13.
“As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation. After that, I will move down and eventually off the list of the world’s richest people,” Gates added.
Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French established the Gates foundation in 2000. But the foundation had already warned Melinda that she could resign as co-chair in a year if she and Gates were no longer collaborating.
If Melinda steps down, her ex-husband will provide her personal funds for her charitable activities, which would be distinct from the foundation’s endowment. The entrepreneur will then control the Gates Foundation, which the couple frequently referred to as their “fourth kid.”
