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At the 2022 Forbes 400 Richest Philanthropy Summit, Bill Gates talked about his plans to donate billions of dollars to the Gates Foundation over the next few years, as well as his commitment to global efforts to eradicate disease and reduce carbon emissions. optimistic attitude. Gates, who co-chairs the Gates Foundation with his ex-wife, fellow billionaire Melinda French Gates, announced at the summit that the foundation plans to close in 25 years.
In a keynote conversation with Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, Gates said: “The Gates Foundation’s goal is to operate for another 25 years.” What is its goal for the next 25 years? “To a large extent end infectious diseases, and all diseases that make the world unequal, by eradicating or reducing incidence to very low levels.”
Just two months ago, Gates donated a record $20 billion to the foundation — one of the largest donations in philanthropy history, which Forbes reported in an exclusive July interview. a message. Gates also pledged to donate another $20 billion “sometime in a few years” and continue to donate after that until he removes himself from the billionaire list.
In another 25 years, Gates will be 91, and Melinda—if she was still at the foundation at the time—will be 83, meaning the next generation of billionaire philanthropists will be needed to succeed Gates foundation.
Gates said: “Melinda and I will likely be there throughout this time to make sure the foundation works as planned. We think it makes sense to spend the money in this time frame, so We’re donating more and more money and committing to higher spending levels.”
Gates predicted a pandemic as early as 2015, and became world-famous for his views on Covid-19. He said he still has no solution to misinformation and conspiracy theories. Someone would even approach him on the street and yell at him, accusing him of microchipping people.
“Polarization and lack of trust is an issue,” he said. “The best-selling book last year was a book by Robert Kennedy about I love making money and killing millions with vaccines. Man. It’s insane that a book like this can sell!”
Fortunately, as the epidemic subsides, conspiracy theories related to the new crown pneumonia appear to be disappearing. “I have a team dedicated to tracking content online, including topics related to me,” Gates said. “During the pandemic, 95% of this content was conspiracy theories, but it has calmed down.”
Bill Gates speaks with Randall Lane at the 2022 Forbes 400 Philanthropy Summit. PHOTO CREDIT: JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
Still, Gates remains concerned about polarization within the U.S. and sees little hope of improvement in the short term. “I concede that the polarization of politics could end everything and we’re going to have a hung election and a civil war. But I don’t have the expertise and I’m not going to spend my money on it. , because I don’t know how to spend it.”
He’s open to ideas, though: “People like to look for easy solutions, and the truth is a bit boring at times. Anyone who can innovate to make the polarization less and make the truth as interesting as the crazy is well worth it. investment.”
Gates expects his foundation to remain focused on healthcare and eradicating disease, even as he has been invited into other philanthropic fields. “We have a great team, but we’re not adding new philanthropy. People will think, ‘Now you guys should be doing a lot of other things.’ But we don’t, we’re going to go deeper into what we’ve been doing things like eradicating malaria, AIDS, measles and polio.”
The polio virus detected in wastewater has made a comeback in several countries this year, and a paralysis case in upstate New York prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency in the state earlier this month. Despite these setbacks, Gates remains hopeful that the disease will be eradicated within the next three to four years.
Separately, Gates spoke about his foundation’s efforts in gene therapy. The therapy is designed to cure about 100,000 patients with sickle cell disease with a one-time injection that costs about $2,000. Using the same technology, the Gates Foundation is planning to develop a similar HIV treatment, which he expects could take up to a decade to develop. In total, the foundation has invested about $600 million in these efforts.
One lingering question about the future of the Gates Foundation is the relationship between Gates and his ex-wife Melinda, who also co-chairs the foundation. For now, Gates sees no reason to worry about it, saying: “We’re completely transparent to the outside world, there’s a very small chance that we won’t be able to work together, and I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Just in case, though, the Gates Foundation has contingency plans in place. Gates said: “Melinda and I have had discussions about this. We have never had a disagreement over the foundation’s affairs over the past few years. We have brought in new trustees and the transition of the foundation’s stewardship seems very smooth. .”
Although the United States has not performed well in the fight against the epidemic, the progress in dealing with the global climate crisis has been relatively slow, and the possibility of another large-scale epidemic in the next 20 years is also high, but Gates is still optimistic about the world’s prospects. “Gloom is a lack of vision,” he said, citing progress in areas ranging from reducing malnutrition and obesity, to developing an HIV vaccine, to rolling out “green cement” to reduce industrial carbon emissions.
For Gates, the more focus on the crises the world is facing, the more people will care and try to solve them. As a closing remark, he asked the audience a simple question: “Would you rather live 20 years from now, or 100 years ago?”
Source: Forbes, Text | Giacomo Tognini
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