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Bill Gates promises to drop off world’s rich list for our sake

Published 17:32 14 Jul 2022 BST

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The fourth-richest man in the world is currently worth $118bn

Billionaire Bill Gates has said he will eventually "drop off" the world's rich list as he intends to continue donating huge portions of his money to philanthropic ventures. The Microsoft co-founder announced yesterday that he would donate $20bn (£17bn) to his charity fund as he has an "obligation" to not hoard his wealth. The 66-year-old tech mogul made the vow on his Twitter account in a lengthy thread about the woes of the world. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1547235379828310017 He began: "Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse. "The pandemic is one of the biggest setbacks in history. The war on Ukraine is a gigantic tragedy for the entire world. "The damage from climate change is already worse than most models predicted. The U.S. has taken a huge step backwards for gender equality and women's health. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1547235386560155648 "But I'm still optimistic. These setbacks are happening in the context of two decades' worth of historic progress and I believe it is possible to mitigate the damage and get back to the progress the world was making." Gates then touched on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he set up with his former wife in 2001. "With the support and guidance of our board, we plan to increase our spending from nearly $6 billion per year today to $9 billion per year by 2026," he explained. "To help make this spending increase possible, I am transferring $20 billion to the foundation's endowment this month." https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1547235395078803457 Ultimately, the Seattle-born inventor feels that he has an "obligation to return my resources to society." He also hopes that others with significant wealth will follow suit, although Elon Musk's busy dodging a Twitter lawsuit at the moment.