Bill Gates is soothing his 200-billion-dollar headache by giving his fortune away over the next two decades. That means increasing Gates Foundation disbursements to $9–10 billion annually, compared with $8 billion in 2024. This nearly trebles the Foundation’s average charitable outlay of around $3.4 billion each year since the Gates family got into philanthropy in 1994. The increase is astounding in absolute dollar terms but when adjusted for past and future inflation, the purchasing power of the expanded Gates largesse (supplemented by Warren Buffett’s billions) just about keeps pace with the real value of their original benefactions. This is still the biggest philanthropic gift in modern history. But why is Gates giving away 99 per cent of his estimated $108 billion wealth?

Perhaps the philanthropist – once the world’s richest man but now in lowly 13th position – suffers from the same anxiety as lesser persons: securing his legacy and being remembered kindly? Or possibly, the 70-year old is concerned for his soul as he enters the “last chapter” of his undoubtedly brilliant career? Gates had a Catholic upbringing but as befits a fiercely rational scientist, he is agnostic. Nevertheless, his reflection that  “to whom much is given, much is expected” suggests a spiritual base. He is also fond of quoting Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth: “the man who dies rich dies disgraced.”   

The question of motivation is important in our age of suspicion where obvious goodness is not accepted at face value.  Gates is the frequent target of outlandish conspiracy theories that have been debunked and say more about his detractors than about him. A more practical question concerns the implications flowing from his intent. Gates is entitled to do what he wants with his private wealth. But this libertarian licence is somewhat conditioned by the thought that the Microsoft co-founder amassed his fortune thanks to people like you and I buying his products and services. 345 million of us contributed $211 billion in revenue in 2023 alone, giving us a legitimate stake in Gates affairs.

His philanthropic endeavours are also our business because of his outsized influence on public policy. Particularly when this sways the choices nations make to affect the life chances of 44 per cent of the world population. They are the world’s poor (those existing on less than $3.65 per day) living in 128 low and middle income nations. However, to put this in perspective,  the........

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