Bill Gates criticized President Donald Trump and Elon Musk in a recent interview with The New York Times, highlighting the detrimental effects of funding cuts to USAID, which he believes will lead to an increase in childhood mortality. He noted, “Initially, childhood deaths were projected to decrease from five million to four million over the next few years. Now, if there isn’t a significant change, we could see those numbers rise from five million to six million.”
Earlier this year, Gates expressed to The Wall Street Journal that he was “frankly impressed” by Trump’s engagement on the issues they discussed during a three-hour dinner last December. However, after months, both Trump and Musk took aim at federal funding, a shift that reportedly “rattled” the Gates Foundation, according to the Times.
Gates described the cuts to USAID as "stunning" during the interview, stating, “I expected maybe a 20 percent reduction. Instead, it’s around an 80 percent cut. I certainly didn’t foresee that, and I don’t think anyone did.”
In this interview, which coincides with his announcement to gradually dissolve the Gates Foundation over the next twenty years, Gates attributed the budget cuts to Musk, saying, “He [Musk] threw it into the wood chipper because he didn’t attend a party that weekend.”
Times reporter David Wallace-Wells highlighted Musk’s commitment to the Giving Pledge, to which Gates responded, “One unusual aspect of the Giving Pledge is that you can wait until you’re deceased to fulfill it. So who knows? He may end up being a significant philanthropist. In the meantime, the world’s richest man has contributed to the deaths of the world’s poorest children.”
Gates also revealed his intention to donate his entire fortune through his foundation over the next two decades, aiming “to save and improve lives around the globe.” The Gates Foundation is scheduled to officially close on December 31, 2045, by which time Gates expects his net worth to have decreased by 99 percent.
