The Gates Foundation and timescales for philanthropy

Philanthropisms

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In this episode we take a look at the recent announcement by Bill Gates that he now plans to give away 99% of his wealth and spend down his foundation over the next 20 years. Including:

• Should we be excited about this news?
• Why has the announcement been made now? Should it be seen in part as a response to the Trump administration?
• Do the sums stack up? Can we square what has been said so far about the total amounts that will be given away with the projected annual spending rates?
• Is the Gates Foundation going to look beyond grantmaking in order to spend out? i.e. by transferring its endowment to other orgs, or by using endowment assets to make impact investments?
• Is this more evidence that norms around perpetuity in foundation philanthropy are shifting?
• Will it be necessary to shift away from “strategic” philanthropy in order to give money away at the required rate?
• Will Gates’s decision prompt other wealthy people to commit to giving more money more quickly?
• Gates has framed his goals in terms of “solving” a number of major societal problems, but does this set unrealistic expectations of what philanthropy can achieve?
• Is there a risk that the increased pace of Gates' giving could exacerbate concerns about the distorting effect that his philanthropy can have in some of the countries where the foundation operates?
• Why did a norm of perpetuity for foundations become established in the first place?
• What are some of the key criticisms that have been levelled at perpetual endowments?

Relevant links

• AP article featuring comment from Rhodri, “Bill Gates pledges his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will close in 20 years”
• Michael Kavate’s piece in Inside Philanthropy, “Gates Sets An End Date: 2045. But Do We Really Know How Much He’ll Spend?”
• New York Times interview, “The $200 Billion Gamble: Bill Gates’s Plan to Wind Down His Foundation”
• WPM article series “What’s the Point of Philanthropic Foundations?” Part 1, part 2 and part 3.
• WPM Guide to short-term vs long-term approaches in philanthropy
• Ben Soskis’s paper on “The History of the Giving While Living” ethic
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes on the ‘history of foundations’ and ‘philanthropy, gratitude and recognition’
• Philanthropisms podcast interview with Maribel Morey