The former Microsoft CEO slams Elon Musk for his efforts to provide assistance to poor countries.
Tech billionaire Bill Gates said he will donate 99% of his wealth over the next two decades, providing his philanthropy long enough to close in 2045.
In a statement issued Thursday, Gates also strongly criticized his 20 million wife, Elon Musk, an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, in a statement, and is urging cuts in U.S. funds to obtain important things like food and medical assistance in poor countries.
"The richest people in the world kill the poorest children in the world are not a pretty child," Gates told the Financial Times.
Gates, whose current estimated net worth is about $100 billion, has been one of the most well-known figures in philanthropy, focusing on medical assistance in poor countries.
He also became a symbol of the huge impact of this wealth on everything from politics to global health.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Gates was a voice rival to patent protections spread over the 19 Covid-19-19-19 vaccine to allow poorer countries to make their own versions and distribute them to their populations faster, believing that doing so would harm innovation and intellectual property.
Critics accused him of advocating a vision of “apartheid.” They also question whether Gates has had a disproportionate impact in the global health sector by raising large amounts of money from groups such as the vaccine group Gavi and the World Health Organization, without the oversight and accountability that public institutions will face.
Over the years, Gates said he was determined to donate most of his huge fortune. Although he is currently worth about $10 billion, he expects the foundation to spend about $200 billion in total by 2045, depending on inflation and markets.
"People will say a lot about me after they die, but I'm sure 'he's dead' won't be one of them."
He added: “There are too many urgent issues to be addressed that I can’t use the resources that can be used to help people.”
Gates also lamented that the United States has withdrawn from global health and humanitarian aid, a delicate condemnation of the Trump administration.
"It is unclear whether the world's richest countries will continue to stand up for their poorest people," he said.