Jump to content

Gates Foundation

Hektor

By Hektor
in General Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Hektor Mentor

Hektor

Posted
Posted

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/magazine/bill-gates-foundation-closing-2045.html

 

Today the Gates Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary by announcing its plans to close up shop.

 

https://www.gatesnotes.com/work/save-lives/reader/20-years-to-give-away-virtually-all-my-wealth

 

hen I first began thinking about how to give away my wealth, I did what I always do when I start a new project: I read a lot of books. I read books about great philanthropists and their foundations to inform my decisions about how exactly to give back. And I read books about global health to help me better understand the problems I wanted to solve.

 

One of the best things I read was an 1889 essay by Andrew Carnegie called The Gospel of Wealth. It makes the case that the wealthy have a responsibility to return their resources to society, a radical idea at the time that laid the groundwork for philanthropy as we know it today.

 

In the essay’s most famous line, Carnegie argues that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” I have spent a lot of time thinking about that quote lately. 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. There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.

 

That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned. I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world. And on December 31, 2045, the foundation will close its doors permanently.

dwy000 Grand Master

dwy000

Posted
Posted

I find Bill Gates to be one of the most inspirational people ever.  I'm sure he will get lots of hate (because, well, it's the internet) but I can't think of too many people who were as successful in everything he's done and has made more of an effort to change the globe for the better.  

schin Mentor

schin

Posted
Posted

So what is he going to do with all the money, Warren is adding to it? It's going to be overfunded with his money and Warren's....

Hektor Mentor

Hektor

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 minutes ago, schin said:

So what is he going to do with all the money, Warren is adding to it? It's going to be overfunded with his money and Warren's....

Giving it away before shutting down!

gfp Grand Master

gfp

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, schin said:

So what is he going to do with all the money, Warren is adding to it? It's going to be overfunded with his money and Warren's....

 

He won't receive much more from Warren. Warren's gifts will stop when he dies and Warren is 94 years old.

Hektor Mentor

Hektor

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 minute ago, gfp said:

He won't receive much more from Warren. Warren's gifts will stop when he dies and Warren is 94 years old.

That's my understanding as well.

John Hjorth Grand Master

John Hjorth

Posted
Posted

Andrew Carnegie : The Gospel of Wealth :

 

image.png.070660a6a7bb50fb02ebb65ef2284b6e.png

 

Quote

Carnegie emigrated to the United States with his very poor parents in 1848. Carnegie started as a telegrapher and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. He built further wealth as a bond salesman raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million (the equivalent of approximately $13.6 billion today), creating the U.S. Steel Corporation. Carnegie devoted the rest of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education and scientific research. With the fortune he made from business, he built Carnegie Hall, and founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, among others. His life has often been referred to as a true rags to riches story.

 

dwy000 Grand Master

dwy000

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, Hektor said:

+1

I found the story of how he built his wealth much more fascinating that how he gave it away.  His relationship with Frick and how they both got so incredibly rich was really interesting.

Gamecock-YT Experienced

Gamecock-YT

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Hektor said:

In the essay’s most famous line, Carnegie argues that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.”

 

Don't think that will be a problem with Gates given his ties to Epstein and his tales of womanizing, along with the subsequent divorce. 

nsx5200 Proficient

nsx5200

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Gamecock-YT said:

Don't think that will be a problem with Gates given his ties to Epstein and his tales of womanizing, along with the subsequent divorce. 

Almost everybody's got some devil in the closet.  Even MLK had issues that was glossed over.  Nobody's perfect, and we can only hope the goods that we do outweighs any bad that we do.  I try to leave the judging to a higher power, although there are a few past figure's grave that I wouldn't mind taking a dump on.  Their anti-contribution to their contribution ratio is just too high.

mjm Enthusiast

mjm

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, dwy000 said:

I found the story of how he built his wealth much more fascinating that how he gave it away.  His relationship with Frick and how they both got so incredibly rich was really interesting.

this series on Hx channel explores that---   The Men Who Built America

Parsad Grand Master

Parsad

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, schin said:

So what is he going to do with all the money, Warren is adding to it? It's going to be overfunded with his money and Warren's....

 

Yeah, the gifts from Warren I believe have stopped since Melinda left the Gates Foundation.  As far as I understand, the three children will give away any funds.  I think Buffett will give each child's foundation quite a bit than originally intended to give away for their ideas and objectives, and the rest will be distributed through the Buffett Foundation by them.

 

Cheers!

gfp Grand Master

gfp

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, Parsad said:

 

Yeah, the gifts from Warren I believe have stopped since Melinda left the Gates Foundation.  As far as I understand, the three children will give away any funds.  I think Buffett will give each child's foundation quite a bit than originally intended to give away for their ideas and objectives, and the rest will be distributed through the Buffett Foundation by them.

 

Cheers!

 

Warren's gifts haven't stopped until he dies.

Parsad Grand Master

Parsad

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, OracleofCarolina said:

Last one I see is less than a year ago.

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/jun2824.pdf

 

so maybe next month he will make a donation to Gates Foundation

 

Looks like he may be sticking with the original commitment...but there won't be any money after his passing.  There is certainly a rift there...not sure exactly what the cause is, but something got stuck in Buffett's craw about Bill and he's not happy.  I know Buffett was extremely keen on Melinda...admired her greatly...and with her not on the board anymore, he's not going to give them a lot more money, especially when he's gone.  I think he's developed a strong trust in his children after years of them handling their own foundations.  Cheers!

John Hjorth Grand Master

John Hjorth

Posted
Posted (edited)

What do CofB&F members think about this post on LinkedIn by Bill Gates three days ago, in the context of Sanjeevs [ @Parsads] post above? 🙄 :

 

image.png.27533e2331e4268c4dc98257539b3447.png

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

Edit :

 

On the other hand, It must have been a harsh attack on a wifey's femininity to find out her hubby has been having fun in bed with another man. ❓💡🤔😛 [ j/k - I coulden't help it] 😎😄

 

image.png.d0514dffbefaebf40085b9371a70ee95.png

Edited by John Hjorth
Hektor Mentor

Hektor

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

On the other hand, It must have been a harsh attack on a wifey's femininity to find out her hubby has been having fun in bed with another man. ❓💡🤔😛 [ j/k - I coulden't help it] 😎😄

🙄 C'mon now John, we expect better from you 😜

gfp Grand Master

gfp

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

Looks like he may be sticking with the original commitment...but there won't be any money after his passing.  There is certainly a rift there...not sure exactly what the cause is, but something got stuck in Buffett's craw about Bill and he's not happy.  I know Buffett was extremely keen on Melinda...admired her greatly...and with her not on the board anymore, he's not going to give them a lot more money, especially when he's gone.  I think he's developed a strong trust in his children after years of them handling their own foundations.  Cheers!

 

Yeah man - everything is exactly as he promised it in the original gift.  10 million B-shares total, 5% fewer shares each year are gifted, every June/July, until I die.

 

Anything more than what he pledged was speculation on what may happen with the rest of his fortune.  He is careful with his words and very precise.  

 

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/donate/bmgfltr.pdf

 

"On June 28, 2024, Mr. Buffett donated 9,930,357 shares of Class B Common Stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust pursuant to his lifetime commitment."

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/315090/000119312524172349/d792739dsc13da.htm

 

 

Mephistopheles Experienced

Mephistopheles

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

Looks like he may be sticking with the original commitment...but there won't be any money after his passing.  There is certainly a rift there...not sure exactly what the cause is, but something got stuck in Buffett's craw about Bill and he's not happy.  I know Buffett was extremely keen on Melinda...admired her greatly...and with her not on the board anymore, he's not going to give them a lot more money, especially when he's gone.  I think he's developed a strong trust in his children after years of them handling their own foundations.  Cheers!


I heard he wasn’t happy with the overhead at the foundation. Also heard about the Melinda thing.

schin Mentor

schin

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2025 at 12:14 PM, Mephistopheles said:


I heard he wasn’t happy with the overhead at the foundation. Also heard about the Melinda thing.

 

I haven't tracked the Foundations progress much.. but, I see these links:

 

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/foundation-fact-sheet

 

What has the foundation actually solved? I've seen some toilets re-invented.. has anything been scaled/mass produced that has changed the trajectory of a country?

 

In some ways, the Daskshana Foundation seems to have more impact than the Gates Foundation... but, again, I want to hear from someone who has been following more...

 

Has there been a non-profit you all are aware of that has solved a human condition better than the field here? If so, where do I send the check?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...