Bill Gates pledges almost all his multi-billion-dollar fortune to charity

Bill Gates' pledge is among the largest ever made, surpassing those of John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, when adjusted for inflation.

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — the 13th-richest man in the world — says he will donate 99 per cent of his remaining tech fortune to the Gates Foundation, which is set to shutter in 2045, earlier than initially planned.

Gates’ current assets are valued at $113.5 billion USD, according to Forbes. His pledge is among the largest ever made, surpassing those of John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, when adjusted for inflation.

Only Berkshire Hathaway investor Warren Buffett’s promise to donate his earnings, currently estimated by Forbes at $160 billion, may be larger depending on stock market fluctuations.

The donation is set to be allocated over time and will allow the foundation, which Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates started together in 2000, to spend an additional $200 billion over the next two decades.

The foundation already has an endowment of $77 billion built from donations from Gates, French Gates and Buffett, amounting to 41 per cent of the foundation’s money.

“It’s kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes,” Gates said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The tech mogul has long been pumping his billions into combating global health crises and funding education in the U.S. The Gates Foundation is heavily invested in efforts to eradicate polio, financially backing vaccine development and distribution efforts, among other disease-fighting initiatives.

Nonetheless, Thursday’s announcement signals an end to its contributions.