May 8 (UPI) -- The Gates Foundation said Thursday it will accelerate spending to $200 billion over the next 20 year and cease operations by the end of 2045.
Founder Bill Gates in a statement, cited the 1889 Andrew Carnegie essay "The Gospel of Wealth" that argued the wealthy have a responsibility to return their resources to society as he said he would give his money back to society much faster than I had originally planned."
"There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people," Gates said.
"I will give away virtually all of my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world."
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Gates said his net worth is $108 billion and when his foundation sunsets operations in 2045, 99% of it will have been given away.
Bill and Melinda Gates started their foundation in 2000. Gates said originally they planned to keep the foundation going for several decades after their deaths.
"I now believe we can achieve the foundation's goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners," he said after input from the foundation's board.
Gates said the foundation progress has been supported by "the incredible generosity" of Warren Buffett, who he said had a huge influence on the foundation.
Among the foundation's achievements, according to Gates, is 80 million lives saved through Gavi and the Global Fund. Those organizations deliver vaccines and other life-saving tools like anti-retrovirals.
The Gates Foundation was central to their creation.
"The work of making the world better is and always has been a group effort. I am proud of everything the foundation accomplished during its first 25 years, but I also know that none of it would have been possible without fantastic partners," Gates said.
Gates said by accelerating his foundation spending he hopes to lift millions of people out of poverty and help to end preventable deaths of moms and babies around the world.
The increased foundation spending over the next 20 years will also be dedicated to fighting infectious diseases.
