From what I can gather there are at least 3 reasons to end it earlier:
It was always planned to have an end date. This was set before they even knew what they’re were going to do. They now have a clear plan, where they can say “a human life can be saved for this amount of dollars”, so they don’t need to wait for anything.
Bill Gates criticizes post-life foundations, stating that they’re in risk of getting eaten by administration costs. I don’t know about that, but it appears that he doesn’t trust others to as good a job as he wants to do himself.
Warren Buffett is doubling the contributions for the foundation, but only for as long as Bill and Melinda are alive. Gates is 69 years old, so blowing it all in 20 years seems to be a realistic timeframe if they want to take full advantage of Warren Buffett’s pledge.
It doesn’t seem so.
The actual interview referenced in the article is somewhat longer: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/magazine/bill-gates-foundation-closing-2045.html
From what I can gather there are at least 3 reasons to end it earlier:
It was always planned to have an end date. This was set before they even knew what they’re were going to do. They now have a clear plan, where they can say “a human life can be saved for this amount of dollars”, so they don’t need to wait for anything.
Bill Gates criticizes post-life foundations, stating that they’re in risk of getting eaten by administration costs. I don’t know about that, but it appears that he doesn’t trust others to as good a job as he wants to do himself.
Warren Buffett is doubling the contributions for the foundation, but only for as long as Bill and Melinda are alive. Gates is 69 years old, so blowing it all in 20 years seems to be a realistic timeframe if they want to take full advantage of Warren Buffett’s pledge.