Bill Gates To Sell Everything He Owns To Fund Philanthropic Activities
In July of last year, Bill Gates, the seventh-richest person in the world, announced that he would be giving away a majority of his wealth to his charity and other philanthropic ventures, citing the need to give back to the community to help people in ways “that have the greatest impact.”
According to Forbes, Gates currently sits on $103.6 billion, and he’s actively trying to knock himself off the world’s riches list. Last year, he donated $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Foundation, which was set up with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates to aid social causes such as poverty, inequality, and those affected by diseases.
I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) July 13, 2022
Though, outside of this bombshell announcement, there wasn’t much information he gave on the subject. But a question on his Reddit Ask Me Anything thread sparked Gates to provide the public with more details.
The Reddit user asked if it was “contradictory to be a humanitarian and then accumulate most scarce resource-land under one?”
This is about the 275,000 acres of farmland in the US owned by Gates. In response, the billionaire said that he owns less than 1/4000 of farmland in the country, and any under his stewardship was bought to provide more jobs for the community. He added that a professional investment team is behind all his land purchases.
He said that to stay true to his pledge to get rid of his wealth for the greater good, adding that he will sell everything he owns and leave the money for the Foundation.
The question is whether this will spark a new trend of billionaires relinquishing their wealth for charity. As of right now, most have been quiet on that front, but under Gates’ influence, there could be hope that other billionaires will begin to at least think about how their wealth could be used for good.
[via Gizmodo and Insider, Photo 179611563 © Frederic Legrand | Dreamstime.com]
