“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told The Financial Times, adding that the tech billionaire “acted through ignorance” by shutting the department, which served as a conduit for US aid.

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In February, Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), finalised shuttering the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At that time, Musk, in an X post, wrote, “USAID is a criminal organisation. Time for it to die.”

Gates told the Financial Times that this abrupt halting of the funds had disastrous implications as it “left life-saving food and medicines expiring in warehouses.” The tech mogul added that this could also lead to a resurgence of diseases like polio, measles, and HIV in several parts of the world.

The Microsoft co-founder explained that the fund cuts by DOGE have led to the cancellation of grants to a hospital in Gaza Province, Mozambique. The medical facility helped pregnant women prevent passing HIV to their babies. Gates said to the outlet that the funds were cut after mistakenly believing that they were used to supply condoms to Hamas in Gaza in the Middle East.

“I’d love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money,” Gates added.

“Give my money back to society”

Bill Gates, once the world’s richest man himself, announced that he will give away virtually all his wealth “through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.” He further announced that in 2045, the foundation will permanently close its doors.

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Why this decision?

“This is a change from our original plans. When Melinda and I started the Gates Foundation in 2000, we included a clause in the foundation’s very first charter: The organisation would sunset several decades after our deaths. A few years ago, I began to rethink that approach. More recently, with the input from our board, 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,” the tech billionaire explained in Gates Notes.