Last year unfolded far differently than Bill Gates had hoped. Despite spending billions through his foundation to improve global health, education, and climate action, Gates watched as the Trump administration sharply cut foreign aid programs.
The Microsoft co-founder has been outspoken against the cost-cutting drive, much of it carried out under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Gates warned the cuts could cost children their lives — a claim Musk challenged, asking for proof.
In his annual letter, Gates struck a tone of cautious optimism. “I still believe the world will keep improving,” he wrote, “but it’s harder to see that today than it has been in a long time.”
He pointed to a troubling reversal: for the first time this century, global deaths of children under five increased — rising from 4.6 million in 2024 to 4.8 million in 2025. Gates said the jump was driven by reduced support from wealthy nations to poorer ones.
The Gates Foundation’s latest Goalkeepers Report warns the trend could worsen. If global health aid falls just 20% from 2024 levels, researchers estimate an additional 12.5 million children could die by 2045.
Still, Gates says innovation — especially powered by artificial intelligence — gives him hope. But that optimism comes with limits. “The next five years will be difficult,” he wrote, adding that while progress has slowed, he does not believe the world will fall into a new Dark Age. Instead, he predicts the next decade could mark a return to rapid global improvement.
In 2025, Gates announced a historic pledge to give away nearly all of his wealth — around $100 billion — committing his foundation to spend $200 billion over the next 20 years. The move builds on his long-standing push for philanthropy, including the Giving Pledge he launched with Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett.
Now, Gates is urging other billionaires to step up as government funding shrinks. With the number of billionaires rising and trillionaires expected within a decade, he argues that private wealth must play a larger role in supporting those most in need.
“Aid cuts won’t be reversed overnight,” Gates wrote, “but restoring funding is critical — even when it represents less than 1% of GDP in the world’s richest countries.”