Bill Gates doesn’t want to die rich. And for this, he is ready to redistribute 99% of his fortune by 2045, or around 200 billion dollars. Traveling to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to the headquarters of the African Union, the founder of Microsoft announced that “most of it” of these funds would be devoted to Africa. “I recently committed to distributing my wealth over the next twenty years. The majority of this funding will be used to help you address the challenges here in Africa”said the 69-year-old philanthropist in a speech relayed by the BBC.
His foundation, already well established on the continent, will focus its actions on primary health care. Two priorities are stated: avoiding deaths of mothers and infants, and allowing children to grow up without fatal infectious diseases. “By unlocking human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on the path to prosperity”estimated the former CEO of Microsoft.
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Bill Gates also sees new technologies, and particularly artificial intelligence, as a lever for improving health systems. “You now have the opportunity, as you build your next generation health systems, to think about how AI is integrated into them”he stressed. This declaration comes in a context of withdrawal by the United States in terms of international aid, particularly in Africa. Under politics “America First” under former President Donald Trump, several programs, including those dedicated to HIV/AIDS treatment, were cut.
“By unlocking human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on the path to prosperity”
Some observers see this philanthropy as a way for Bill Gates to avoid taxes. A criticism to which the person responds with a fatalistic tone. “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I’m determined that ‘he died rich’ won’t be one of them.”he writes on his blog.
