Bill Gates announced plans Thursday to give away “virtually all” of his estimated $200 billion fortune.
The Microsoft founder, 69, said he wants to distribute his money within the next 20 years before closing the Gates Foundation that he created with his former wife, Melinda, on December 31, 2045.
“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.”
Gates and his former wife established their foundation in 2000, with plans to continue its philanthropic work for many decades after their deaths.
The foundation, one of the world’s largest charitable organizations, has reportedly already given away more than $100 billion since its founding.