Billionaire Bill Gates says he plans to donate "virtually" all his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organization in the name of the Microsoft co-founder and his ex-wife.
On Wednesday, Gates announced, via social media, an initial transfer of $20 billion to the foundation's endowment.
"As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation," Gates tweeted. "I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world's richest people."
In the Twitter thread, Gates also thanked fellow billionaire Warren Buffett for his longtime contribution to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, while stating that Buffett's "incredible generosity is a huge reason why the foundation has been able to be so ambitious."
In 2010, Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates founded an initiative known as the Giving Pledge, which represents a "movement of philanthropists who commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes, either during their lifetimes or in their wills."
After a decade-plus, the Giving Pledge has collected signatures from more than 200 billionaires across the world.
"I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives," Gates tweeted. "And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too."
Bill Gates has long been a proponent of giving away a vast percentage of his wealth, citing a core belief in addressing global issues, such as climate change.
In the past, Gates has even suggested that his children wouldn't become billionaires as direct heirs, given the amount of wealth he intends to donate to other causes.
According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Gates has a current net worth of $114 billion.
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