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Bill Gates has accused fellow billionaire Elon Musk of "killing the world's poorest children" over the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, as the philanthropist brings forward a deadline to spend all his wealth on tackling global issues such as health and education. "The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," the Microsoft founder told the Financial Times. Newsweek has contacted Musk for comment via an email to Tesla's press office.
Why it Matters Musk, the CEO of the electric automaker Tesla, spearheaded the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to slash federal spending, including the shuttering of USAID. Musk said the foreign aid agency was riddled with waste and fraud. However, opponents of the cuts say losing billions of dollars in American aid will hit some of the world's most vulnerable communities, who relied on the funding for basic medical services and food.
What To Know Speaking with the Financial Times, Gates cited Musk's grant cuts to a hospital in Gaza Province, Mozambique, that was preventing women from transmitting HIV to their babies. Musk had said the grants funded condoms for Gaza in the Middle East, which he later acknowledged was incorrect. "I'd love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money," Gates told the publication.
The two men have clashed before over philanthropy—Musk sees businesses like Tesla as a more effective means of tackling major problems, such as climate change—and Gates' investment decisions after he shorted Tesla stock. Gates, doubling down on his philanthropic efforts, has announced that he is moving up a deadline for the philanthropic foundation that bears his name to close, setting it for 2045. He is giving away 99 percent of his wealth to the Gates Foundation, which largely focuses on improving public health and education in the developing world.
The accelerated deadline means the foundation, which has already spent about $100 billion since its founding 25 years ago, can spend a further $200 billion over the next two decades. Bill Gates speaking at the pledge session of the World Health Summit in Berlin on October 14, 2024. Bill Gates speaking at the pledge session of the World Health Summit in Berlin on October 14, 2024.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images The pledge is among the largest philanthropic gifts ever—outpacing the historic contributions of industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie when adjusted for inflation. Only Berkshire Hathaway investor Warren Buffett's pledge to donate his fortune—estimated by Forbes at $160 billion—may be larger, depending on stock market fluctuations. About 41 percent of the foundation's money so far has come from Buffett, with the rest coming from the fortune Gates made at Microsoft.
The foundation still has numerous goals—eradicating polio; controlling other deadly diseases, such as malaria; and reducing malnutrition, which makes children more vulnerable to other illnesses. Gates said spending down his fortune would help save and improve many lives now, which would have positive ripple effects well beyond the foundation's closure. The move also makes it more likely that his intentions will be honored.
He also hoped that by addressing these issues now, wealthy donors would be free to tackle other problems later. What People Are Saying Bill Gates told the Associated Press: "It's kind of thrilling to have that much to be able to put into these causes." He added: "I think 20 years is the right balance between giving as much as we can to make progress on these things and giving people a lot of notice that now this money will be gone."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on March 10: "After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83 percent of the programs at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18 percent of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department.
Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform." Elon Musk responded: "The important parts of USAID should always have been with Dept of State." In a March 4 post, Musk wrote: "USAID was interfering in governments throughout the world and pushing radical left politics."
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
