當地時間5月8日，比爾·蓋茨（Bill Gates）在個人部落格釋出宣告，宣佈將在未來20年透過蓋茨基金會捐出其幾乎全部財富，以挽救和改善世界各地的生命。該承諾將成為現代歷史上最大的一筆慈善捐贈。
Bill Gates plans to give away nearly all of his personal wealth and shutter the Gates Foundation within 20 years, the billionaire announced in a blog post on Thursday."I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world," Gates wrote in his blog.
“蓋茨筆記”網站截圖
據蓋茨基金會介紹，截至目前，比爾·蓋茨的個人淨資產約為1080億美元。根據最新承諾，未來20年間，蓋茨基金會的捐贈總額將達到2000億美元。此次承諾的捐贈總額已超過基金會當前的捐贈基金規模，差額部分將由比爾·蓋茨的個人財富逐步補充。
蓋茨在部落格中寫道：“當前有太多亟待解決的問題，我不應該把本可以用於幫助他人的資源據為己有。”他表示，等他去世後，人們也許會說很多關於他的話，但“他死時還很有錢”絕不會是其中之一。正因如此，他決定加快步伐，在未來20年內捐出幾乎全部財富。
"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. There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.""That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned."
比爾·蓋茨 圖源：美國消費者新聞與商業頻道
為配合這一歷史性轉變，蓋茨基金會理事會已正式批准新的時間表，並修改章程。此前章程規定，基金會將在蓋茨去世後20年關閉；如今，這一修改意味著基金會各項工作將全面提速，並將在2045年12月31日正式結束運營。
Now, Gates has set a specific timeline for disbursing his fortune: The Gates Foundation is set to close its doors on Dec 31, 2045.
未來20年，蓋茨基金會的整體戰略不變，同時將透過與夥伴們緊密合作，盡最大努力推動以下三個核心目標的實現：助力終結孕產婦和嬰兒死於可預防的疾病；確保我們的下一代不再遭受致命傳染病的威脅；以及幫助數億人擺脫貧困，走上繁榮發展的道路。
Among his goals for the next two decades, he wrote: Further reducing the deaths of mothers and young children from preventable causes; Helping eradicate diseases like polio, malaria, measles and Guinea-worm disease; Funding advances in education and agriculture in African nations to help "hundreds of millions of people break free from poverty".
蓋茨表示，他的慈善理念深受老朋友、同為億萬富翁的沃倫·巴菲特（Warren Buffett）的影響。巴菲特已向慈善機構捐出數百億美元，並承諾在去世後捐出99%的剩餘財富。蓋茨稱巴菲特是“慷慨的終極典範”，“他是第一個向我介紹放棄一切的人”。
Gates' stance on philanthropy was also influenced by longtime friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, who has already donated tens of billions of dollars to charities and has tasked his children with giving away 99 percent of his remaining wealth after he dies. Buffett "remains the ultimate model of generosity," Gates wrote. "He was the first one who introduced me to the idea of giving everything away."
他指出，過去25年裡，蓋茨基金會已累計捐出超過1000億美元，其中巴菲特的支援至關重要。未來20年，基金會的捐贈將翻倍，預計總額超過2000億美元，包括蓋茨未來的個人捐贈，具體數額將根據市場走勢和通貨膨脹情況而定。
During the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation — powered in part by the generosity of Warren Buffett — we gave away more than $100 billion. Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045. This figure includes the balance of the endowment and my future contributions.
蓋茨基金會調整關閉日期既考慮了任務的緊迫性，也為了把握當下機遇。2000年至2025年，全球在健康和發展領域取得非凡進展——兒童死亡人數減半，致命傳染病造成的死亡人數大幅下降，數億人擺脫貧困——基金會希望能夠把握這一契機。
編輯：左卓
見習編輯：裴禧盈
來源：美國消費者新聞與商業頻道 雅虎財經 介面新聞 澎湃新聞
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