Bill Gates Pledges $200 Billion Fortune to Africa Development by 2045

Bill Gates has pledged to donate nearly all of his projected $200 billion fortune over the next 20 years, focusing his philanthropic efforts on Africa to improve health, education, and economic opportunity. Speaking at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Gates emphasized that investing in primary healthcare, especially maternal and child health, along with quality education, is essential to unlocking Africa's long-term prosperity. His foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will scale up efforts targeting the end of preventable maternal and child deaths, eradication of infectious diseases, and poverty reduction before ceasing operations around 2045. Gates encouraged African innovators to embrace technologies like artificial intelligence to leapfrog traditional development stages, citing Rwanda’s AI-enabled healthcare advancements. This commitment builds on the foundation’s prior work, which has already contributed over $100 billion globally, including significant progress in vaccinations and disease eradication. Gates has made clear that most of his wealth will not be inherited by his children but dedicated to addressing challenges in Africa, aiming to leave a lasting legacy of improved health systems and economic growth across the continent.