Q&A with Bill Gates: The optimist

As he begins to wind down his foundation, Gates makes his biggest plans yet

Interview by Diana Schoberg

In May, Bill Gates gave himself a bold new challenge and a tough deadline: to give away virtually all his wealth in the next 20 years and close up his long-running philanthropic enterprise. The Gates Foundation, one of Rotary’s partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, has already given away more than $100 billion in its first 25 years. But for the foundation to wind down fully it first needs to ramp up — in order to spend more than twice that amount before it closes its doors on 31 December 2045.

Polio remains a priority. At the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Rotary and the Gates Foundation announced a joint commitment to direct up to $450 million over the next three years to support polio eradication, a renewal of their long-standing partnership. Rotary will continue to raise $50 million per year, with every dollar matched with two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation.

In June, Bill Gates dedicated an award he received from the Nigerian president to Chief Ayuba Gufwan. Paralyzed by polio at age 5, Gufwan serves as the executive secretary of Nigeria’s National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and CEO of Wheelchairs for Nigeria.