Does Philanthropy Have an Expiration Date? According to Bill Gates yes, and that date is December 31, 2045. The Microsoft co-founder has announced that he will donate virtually his entire fortune to the Gates Foundation over the next twenty years, and then permanently close the organization. A move that breaks with the tradition of perpetual foundations and represents one of the greatest philanthropic accelerations in modern history.
Gates has made no secret of the reasons behind this decision: the world is facing urgent crises that require immediate responses, not future promises. And while governments are cutting international aid, he has decided to do the opposite: redouble his efforts when they are needed most.
A decision that sweeps away 25 years of tradition
To understand the significance of this announcement, we need to take a step back. The Gates Foundation was formed in 2000 from the merger of two smaller family foundations, fueled by Gates' fortune built with Microsoft. Over the past 25 years, the organization has grown the richest and most influential private foundation in the world, with a net worth of over 77 billion dollars and donations that have already exceeded 100 billion.
The original plan called for the foundation to close 20 years after Gates' death. Considering that the man is 69 years old, we could expect the organization to continue operating at least until 2070. But no: Gates has decided to speed up everything, setting the closing date for 2045. Bill Gates he explained his choice with words that leave no room for interpretation:
“There are too many pressing problems to solve to hold back resources that could be used to help people.”
The mathematics behind this acceleration is impressive. Over the next 200 years, the foundation will need to spend approximately $XNUMX billion., virtually doubling the annual budget from the current $9 billion. Gates has pledged to donate 99% of his personal wealth (currently estimated at $107 billion) to achieve this goal.
The Man Who Divides (Even When He Gives)
Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Bill Gates is probably the only billionaire in the world who manages to be controversial even when he gives away money. A very modern contradiction: there are those who venerate him as a secular saint, others consider him a dangerous global manipulator. The truth, as often happens, probably lies somewhere in the middle. But the fact that he manages to inspire conspiracy theories while handing out billions for vaccines and medical treatments says a lot about the strange times we live in.
Criticisms of the Gates Foundation there is no shortage of them and they range from the accusation of “philanthrocapitalism” to the risk of concentrating too much power in the hands of private individuals. Federico Mento of Ashoka Italia emphasizes how it is necessary to “make the philanthropic approach more horizontal” and work on the “culture of trust” rather than control. In short, Gates could donate all the money in the world and there would still be someone ready to criticize the color of the ribbon on the gift packages. At the same time, not even donating all this money makes him a Saint, unassailable, or free of “unethical” interests. Was that called a middle way? Middle way.
Beyond the controversies, however, the numbers speak clearly: Since 2000, the Gates Foundation has helped save 82 million lives through the support of Gavi (the global vaccine alliance) and to Global Fund for the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It has also supported the development of over 100 medical innovations, including the first malaria vaccine.
Philanthropy against time
Gates' decision does not arise in a vacuum. The acceleration comes at a particular historical moment, characterized by what he himself defines as a scenario of "urgency and opportunity". On the one hand, advances in artificial intelligence are opening up unthinkable possibilities in global healthcare: gene therapies for HIV, portable diagnostic tools, innovative solutions for maternal mortality and infant.
On the other hand, the global political context is becoming increasingly hostile to international aid. The Trump administration has already announced drastic cuts to USAID, the American agency for international development that in 2024 managed about 44 billion dollars in aid. Gates has not minced words in criticizing this choice, reaching a public clash with Elon Musk, who for his part has promised to “feed USAID into the grinder”.
“The image of the richest man in the world killing the poorest children in the world is not a pretty one”, Gates declared at Financial Times, referring to Musk. A joke that sounds especially caustic considering that Musk signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, theoretically committing to give away the majority of his fortune. Gates took the opportunity to point out a limitation of the Giving Pledge: “You can wait until you die and still fulfill the commitment.”
The “give while you live” model
Gates' approach is not entirely original. It is inspired by the philosophy of Chuck Feeney, co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers chain, which popularized the concept of “Giving While Living.” Feeney donated anonymously for years, only making his identity public to spread this message. In 2020, he closed his Atlantic Philanthropies after giving away all of its $8 billion.
The Warren Buffett, a longtime friend and donor to the Gates Foundation, represents a similar model. The Berkshire Hathaway investor has already given away more than $46 billion, or 71% of his fortune, and has instructed his children to distribute the rest after his death. Gates has called Buffett “the ultimate model of generosity.” Again: Saint or shark? A little bit of both. Either one or the other.
Academic research confirms the transformative impact of these approaches. A PMC study documented how the Gates Foundation has even managed to influence the US National Institutes of Health, prompting them to redirect about $1 billion toward global health, contradicting the “common wisdom” that increases in funding by one agency lead others to reduce their investments in the same sector.
The Numbers of a Philanthropic Revolution
The magnitude of Gates' promise becomes clear when we compare it to other philanthropic efforts. The 200 billion dollars that will be distributed over the next twenty years will surpass the combined wealth of many nations. For comparison, Hungary's GDP is around $180 billion.
mackenzie scott, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, has attracted attention in recent years for the speed of her giving: $19 billion in five years. Yet her net worth has remained largely unchanged thanks to the growth of Amazon stock. Gates seems determined to avoid this paradox, aiming to “step down from the list of the richest people in the world,” as he wrote in a 2022 blog post.We will see.
A sector in transformation
Gates’ decision is already influencing the global philanthropic debate. According to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, nearly half of organizations founded in the 2010s were created as limited-term entities, up from 20% in the 80s. A 2022 survey found that 23% of foundations created after 2000 have a fixed term.
This trend toward “time-bound philanthropy” reflects a growing awareness that global problems require massive, coordinated interventions, rather than small, time-honored donations. As highlighted by experts, this approach could “catalyze further private and public investment” and push other philanthropic organizations to “reconsider their long-term strategies.”
The challenges of the accelerated model
Not everything is rosy in the world of fast-track philanthropy. mark suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation itself, admitted that 2045 deadline is creating uncertainty even within the organization about what programs will continue. “Having that time horizon puts even more weight on us to say: Are you really putting your resources behind the biggest, most successful bets?”
The risk is that of creating dependency in countries and organizations that have become accustomed to Gates Foundation funding. Suzman promised that the foundation will work to “strengthen the institutions that will survive it” and ensure support for local organizations to plan for the post-2045 future.
Another critical point, I mentioned at the beginning, concerns democratic governance. Social policy experts raise legitimate questions about how much power any single individual should have in determining global priorities in areas such as health and development. Nicoletta Dentico, an expert in international cooperation, speaks of “philanthrocapitalism” and the risk of “philanthropocolonialism”.
The Mathematics of Impact
Despite the criticism, the Gates Foundation’s 25-year accomplishments are hard to ignore. According to official data, between 2000 and 2025, child deaths have been halved, deaths from deadly infectious diseases have dropped significantly, and hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
The foundation has invested heavily in public-private partnerships that have produced a multiplier effect: for every dollar invested by the Gates Foundation, governments and other organizations have contributed multiple amounts. In other words: “bad Bill also did good things.” But what will happen in 20 years?
Philanthropy Beyond 2045: What's Next After Gates?
It’s the question many are asking: What happens after the Gates Foundation closes? Gates hopes his decision will inspire other billionaires to accelerate their giving. As highlighted in his personal blog,
“I hope other wealthy people will consider how much they could accelerate progress for the world’s poorest if they increased the pace and scale of their giving.”
The message is clear: Philanthropy can no longer afford the luxury of gradualism. Global problems, from climate change to pandemics, from educational inequalities to extreme poverty, require immediate and coordinated solutions. Gates' bet is that concentrating massive resources in a limited period can produce more lasting results than gradual distribution over time.
The lesson of a lifetime (and a fortune)
Ultimately, the story of Gates and his foundation is about more than just billionaire altruism. It’s about a systematic approach to global problems, the importance of timing in philanthropy, and the need to balance immediate impact with long-term sustainability.
Gates has often cited the influence of his mother Mary, who died in 1994, who reminded him that he was “just a steward” of the wealth he had accumulated, with a moral obligation to return it to society. This philosophy, combined with the pressures of the current times, has produced what may be remembered as the greatest philanthropic acceleration in modern history.
Twenty years from now, when the Gates Foundation finally closes its doors, the world will have had a chance to see if this experiment in “sprint philanthropy” has worked. If the results live up to the promises, Gates may have invented a new model for the billionaires of the future. If not, at least he will have tried to change the rules of the game when it was needed most.
After all, in an era when the philanthropy of billionaires continues to grow the wealth of those who give faster than they can distribute it, perhaps it needed someone willing to burn everything to leave a mark. That this someone is Bill Gates, the man who divided the world of information technology and now divides the world of charity, adds a note of irony that probably not even he had planned.
