Bill Gates claims that his pledge to give away his fortune will remove him from the list of the world's wealthiest people

Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist, announced Wednesday that he intends to donate his entire fortune to his and his ex-philanthropic wife's organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In a Twitter thread, the Microsoft co-founder announced that he was transferring $20 billion to the foundation's endowment this month in order to increase spending to $9 billion per year by 2026, citing the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other factors.

Gates said, "As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation. I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world's richest people."

He also thanked Warren Buffet, the famed billionaire investor, for his longtime contribution to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, saying his "incredible generosity is a huge reason why the foundation has been able to be so ambitious."

In 2010, Buffett, Gates, and Melinda French Gates launched The Giving Pledge, 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."

Gates wrote, "I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives and I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too."