Posted on 11th June 2009
Bill Gates has urged billionaires to give most of their wealth to charitable causes.
“All billionaires should give away the vast majority of their fortunes … I think they would enjoy it, their kids would be better off, and the world would be better off,” Gates said. “I’m a great believer that great wealth should go from the richest to the poorest.”
We was speaking at a public meeting hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Norway on 3rd June about how businesses and governments can co-operate to combat major social problems, including poverty.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation increased grant-making to a total of $2.8 bn (£1.7 bn) over the course of 2008, up from $2.01 bn (£1.2bn) for 2007, despite the foundation’s assets having fallen from $38.8 bn (£23.6) at the end of 2007 to $29.8 bn (£18.1) at the end of 2008.
An unexpected but fast growing source of income came from unsolicited donations, which accounted for $10.4m (£6.3m) .This was nearly ten times the value of unsolicited donations made to the foundation in 2007.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has stringent guidelines for gifts it accepts, instead encouraging people to give directly to the charitable groups it supports.
Bill and Melinda Gates’s appearance with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is available on the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
