Recently, Bill Gates published on Gates Notes announcing the Gates Foundation’s last chapter. Gates’ next steps are informed by Andrew Carnegie’s 1889 essay, The Gospel of Wealth, in which Carnegie argued, “He who dies rich dies disgraced.” Entering this final phase, Gates will donate 99% of his current wealth to the Gates Foundation. He has three objectives: To eliminate preventable deaths for mothers, children, and babies; to allow the next generation to grow up without deadly infectious diseases; and to lift millions out of poverty. The Gates Foundation will close its doors in 2045.
Gates’ announcement has sparked discussion on the future of philanthropy. Two perspectives are worth considering as the philanthropic landscape shifts.
One view suggests that Gates’ model of billionaire philanthropy is dying out as tech-billionaires’ philanthropic attitudes shift. Bloomberg columnist Beth Kowitt notes the traditional paradigm of “with great wealth comes great responsibility.” However, Kowitt asserts that many of today’s Silicon Valley elites see the benefits of the technology they’ve championed as their primary contribution to society. Kowitt highlights the contrast between focusing on real-time global problems versus investing in long-term, high-concept ideas like AI or space exploration. While Gates himself has invented transformative technologies, he maintains that his direct investment in the world’s poorest countries has had a greater impact.
Another view questions whether the Gates Foundation’s closing signals a win for trust-based philanthropy. Leslie Lenkowsky, a contributor to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, reinforces that Gates’ decision marks “the end of the once-celebrated era of expert-driven giving.” When it emerged in the 1990s, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aimed to maximize impact by funding key experts. However, critics have asserted that the majority of the foundation’s funds went to large institutions like the World Health Organization and other US and European groups, instead of organizations based in countries they aimed to serve. These criticisms reflect a growing trend in philanthropy today: Institutional grant makers and donors lean into giving like MacKenzie Scott’s no-strings-attached approach, which gives recipient organizations greater autonomy in how they use their funds.
Bill Gates’ decision to donate his remaining wealth to address society’s most urgent needs underscores his belief that where someone is born should not determine their opportunities. While his announcement marks the closing of a powerful chapter in philanthropic history, it also opens space for new giving models to emerge.