Bill Gates to Give Another $29 Billion To Gates Foundation
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Bill Gates to Give Another $29 Billion To Gates Foundation

The foundation says it plans to increase its annual payout by billions of dollars in coming years

By Emily Glazer
Thu, Jul 14, 2022 2:13pmGrey Clock 2 min

Bill Gates said he is giving another $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation endowment this month, and the foundation said it plans to dole out funds faster in the coming years.

The two announcements on Wednesday follow a recent Wall Street Journal article saying that the Gates Foundation was adjusting to possible changes in billionaire Warren Buffett’s plans for his charitable giving and that a little-known Buffett family foundation was preparing to receive an influx of money.

“As I look to the future, my plan is to give all my wealth to the foundation other than what I spend on myself and my family,” Mr. Gates, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder, wrote in a blog post Wednesday. He also detailed the billions that his friend Mr. Buffett has given to the Gates Foundation, noting that about half of the foundation’s resources so far have come from Mr. Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Mr. Gates’s latest gift would bolster the Gates Foundation’s endowment, which is roughly $50 billion. The Gates Foundation said Wednesday it would increase its payout by 50% over prepandemic levels, to about $9 billion annually by 2026 compared with about $6 billion pre-Covid 19.

Mr. Buffett, who has pledged to give away most of his wealth, has made annual gifts to the Gates Foundation since 2006, including a roughly $3 billion donation of Berkshire shares in June. He resigned as a Gates Foundation trustee in 2021.

The Journal reported in June that while Mr. Buffett hasn’t revealed publicly how his estate will be divided, officials at the Gates Foundation and the Susan T. Buffett Foundation have discussed in internal meetings that the amount left to the Buffett family foundation could be as high as $70 billion to $100 billion. An endowment of that size would make the Buffett foundation, which is a major supporter of abortion rights, one of the largest private philanthropies in the world, based on publicly available data.

Mr. Buffett didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

“Warren’s advice and thinking influenced the foundation in a profound way even before he made any gifts,” Mr. Gates wrote in his post Wednesday. “Warren, I can never adequately express how much I appreciate your friendship and guidance as well as your generosity.”

The foundation brought in more independent oversight after Mr. Gates and Melinda French Gates filed for divorce. Ms. French Gates subsequently indicated she will shift more of her wealth among other philanthropies. Under terms of the divorce, she agreed to resign from the foundation in 2023 if either she or her ex-husband decides they can no longer work together.

Mr. Gates wrote that he and Ms. French Gates approved an additional $2 billion in spending to help with Covid-19 response and US$1.5 billion was spent by the end of 2021. Mr. Gates wrote that they expected the extra spending to stop once the worst of the pandemic ended but it has become clear in all areas there is more work needed.

Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman wrote in a Wednesday announcement that, with support of its board, the foundation’s focus areas—health, gender equality, agriculture, financial inclusion and education—wouldn’t be changing.

Ms. French Gates said the foundation has spent more than two decades building relationships with a range of partners and this additional spending will help with those partners’ work.

Mr. Gates wrote that his personal focus is on pandemic prevention, global health, education, food costs and climate efforts, the latter funded through a Gates-backed venture Breakthrough Energy. He cited Ms. French Gates’s efforts on gender equality.

 



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Hoping to recreate a freewheeling world tour from their youth, two retirees set themselves a ‘no itinerary’ challenge: Can they improvise their way across seven countries?

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In our 20s, my new husband and I took a year off from our fledgling careers to travel in Southeast Asia. Equipped with paper maps, we began in China and improvised each day’s “itinerary” on the go. A gap year for grown-ups, I called it, although I scarcely qualified as one.

Nearly 40 years later, we are new retirees with the same wanderlust. We wondered: Could we recapture the thrill of winging it, enduring rough roads and cheap hotels?

We could and did, but for 2½ months instead of 12. We mapped out a route that would take us up Africa’s east coast and then—who knows where? Here’s how we rolled and five important lessons we learned on a 6,000-mile trip.

Kenya: Live large by day

Our first stop was the tiny, car-free island of Lamu, well-known for its high-profile visitors, from Kate Moss to the Obamas. This low-key getaway offered white-sand beaches, dhows — boats you can rent for day cruises and snorkelling — and lots of donkeys, the main mode of transport.

We considered the beachside Peponi Hotel in Shela, a hot spot since the 1960s (Mick Jagger bunked there). But room rates start at $250, far above our per-night budget of $70 or less. When contemplating almost 100 nights of travel, price matters.

So we chose a villa in the dunes called Amani Lamu, $61 per night for an en suite room with a private terrace and shared plunge pool.

We still had a cool Peponi moment come sunset: On the hotel’s whitewashed veranda, we sipped Pepotinis and plotted our next day’s interlude at the Majlis, Lamu’s fanciest resort (from $580).
With a $20 day pass, we could lounge around its pools and beach bars like proper resort habitués.

Lesson learned: Live like billionaires by day and frugal backpackers by night.
Must-go: Across the bay on Manda Island, bunk a night in a thatched-roof bungalow on stilts at Nyla’s Guest House and Kitchen (from $48 with breakfast).
After a dinner of doro wat, a spicy Ethiopian chicken stew and rice, the sound of waves will lull you asleep.

Egypt: Ask. Politely.

From Lamu, we flew to Aswan in Egypt. Our “plan”: Cruise down the Nile to Luxor, then take a train to Cairo, and venture to Giza’s pyramids.

Turns out it’s the kind of thing one really should book in advance. But at our Aswan hostel, the proprietor, who treated us like guests deserving white-glove service, secured a felucca, a vessel manned by a navigator and captain-cum-cook. Since we’d booked fewer than 24 hours in advance and there were no other takers, we were its sole passengers for the three-day trip.

One day, we stopped to tour ancient temples and visit a bustling camel fair, but otherwise, we remained on board watching the sunbaked desert slide by. We slept on futons on the deck under the stars. The cost: about $100 per night per person, including three meals.

Lesson learned: Ask for help. We found Egyptians kind and unfazed by our haplessness, especially when we greeted them respectfully with assalamu alaikum (“Peace to you”).
Must-go: For buys from carpets to kebabs, don’t miss Cairo’s massive Khan el-Khalili bazaar, in business since 1382. We loved the babouche, cute leather slippers, but resisted as our packs were full.

Turkey: Heed weather reports

Next stop Tunisia, via a cheap flight on EgyptAir. We loved Tunisia, but left after six days because the weather got chilly.

Fair enough, it was January. We hopped continents by plane and landed in Istanbul, where it snowed. Fortunately, two of Istanbul’s main pleasures involve hot water. We indulged in daily hammams, or Turkish baths, ranging from $30 to $60 for services that included, variously, a massage, a scrub-down and a soak.

Beneath soaring ceilings at the temple-like Kılıç Ali Paşa Halamı, brisk workers sternly wielded linen sacks to dowse my body in a cloud of hot foam.
In between visits to Ottoman-era mosques and the city’s spice markets, we staved off the chill by drinking fruity pomegranate tea and sampling Turkish delight and baklava at tea salons.

A favourite salon: Sekerci Cafer Erol in Kadıköy, a ferry-ride away on the “Asian” side of Istanbul, where the city adjoins Asia.

Lesson learned: Pay attention to the weather gods. We foolishly took the concept of travelling off-season too far.
Must-go: Don’t miss the Istanbul Modern, the Renzo Piano-designed art museum in the historic Beyoğlu district.

Cambodia: Chill out

After a long flight from Istanbul, we spent two weeks in Laos and then hopped another plane to Cambodia, specifically Koh Rong Sanloem, another car-free island.

Like vagabonds, we lolled by the warm, super-blue water of Sunset Beach, steps from our bungalow at Sleeping Trees (from $54 per night).
A caveat: You have to sweat to get to this island paradise. We took a bus, a ferry and then hiked for 40 minutes up and down a steep hill and through a jungle. You’ll find only a handful of “resorts”—simple bungalow complexes like ours. There’s nothing much to do. I’ll be back.

Lesson learned: Until our week in Cambodia, we’d been travelling too much and too fast, prioritising exploration over relaxation. This island taught us the pleasures of stasis.
Must-go: Spend one day in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, to delve into its sobering history. Tour the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, site of a Killing Field, where nearly 9,000 Cambodians died.

Thailand: Be a frugal hedonist

We spent our last two weeks on the island of Ko Samui, where season three of “The White Lotus” was shot.

We went there for its astounding beauty, not the luxury resort experience that comes with too many boisterous lads on vacation, snake farms and traffic jams in town.

Truth be told, we flouted our budget rules to book an Airbnb with a pool (from $300) in the hills of Lipa Noi on the island’s quiet side. We joined the nearby Gravity Movement Gym to work out, but cooked our own meals to keep our final tabulation of expenses within reach.

Lesson learned: Pinching pennies feels restrictive, no matter how lush the surroundings. And it leads to bickering, as partners tally up who squandered how much on what.
With the end in sight, we splurged on the villa and even bought souvenirs, knowing we’d lug them for days, not weeks.
Must-go: Take the 30-minute ferry to sister island Ko Pha Ngan for its peace, love and yoga vibe and, once a month, full-moon parties.
Via Airbnb, we bunked at a Thai house called Baan Nuit, run by the Dear Phangan restaurant proprietors.

We sampled steamed dumplings, white fish in a Thai basil sauce and spicy noodles for a mere $15 apiece.
Hey, indulge in that “White Lotus” moment if you dare!

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