Bill Gates to give away fortune by 2045; world's poorest to get $259b via foundation

Mr Bill Gates pledged on May 8 to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some US$200 billion (S$259 billion) via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.

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LONDON -

The Microsoft co-founder also hit out at Mr Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a key figure in President Donald Trump's administration, accusing him of "killing the world's poorest children" with huge cuts to the US aid budget.

"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," Mr Gates told the Financial Times.

The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has led to the decimation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has previously provided billions in funding for everything from vaccines for children to emergency food assistance.

Mr Gates and Mr Musk once agreed over the role of the wealthy in giving away money, but have since clashed several times.

Mr Gates, 69, said he was speeding up plans to divest his fortune and close the Gates Foundation on Dec 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," he wrote in a post on his website.