How Elon Musk is reason behind Bill Gates pledging Rs 1670000 crore donation, here's what Melinda Gates has to say

Bill Gates has announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will spend all of its USD 200 billion endowment by 2045, with a focus on improving global health. This means the foundation, which he co-founded with his former wife Melinda French Gates, will shut down by December 31, 2045. Gates called this accelerated plan necessary and impactful. Melinda, who has long supported the foundation’s work, described the decision as “fantastic.”

The main goal of this spending is to fight global issues such as eradicating deadly diseases like polio and malaria, preventing maternal and child deaths, and reducing poverty. The foundation’s yearly budget is expected to reach USD 9 billion by 2026 and grow to around USD 10 billion in the years after.

However, Gates also strongly criticized Elon Musk, blaming him for hurting poor children across the world. This criticism comes after massive cuts to the U.S. foreign aid budget, which has been overseen by Musk in his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk had previously joked on social media about dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), calling it being fed “into the wood chipper.”

These aid cuts are severe, around 80 percent of USAID’s programs are expected to be eliminated. In 2023 alone, the agency spent USD 44 billion helping people worldwide. Gates warned that private foundations like his cannot replace the role of governments when it comes to helping the world’s poorest people. He expressed concern that important progress in fighting disease and hunger could be reversed.

In a heated moment online, Musk responded to a post about Gates’s interview by calling him “a huge liar” on X (formerly Twitter). Musk’s team did not offer any further comments.

Despite these tensions, Gates said he remains hopeful. He believes that in the next 20 years, governments will once again prioritize the health and survival of children. He also praised some African governments for stepping up by reallocating funds to continue critical aid work.

This announcement comes as the Gates Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary. Along with Melinda, Gates started the organization in 2000, later joined by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.