當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間5月8日，比爾·蓋茨（Bill Gates）在個(gè)人博客發(fā)布聲明，宣布將在未來(lái)20年通過(guò)蓋茨基金會(huì)捐出其幾乎全部財(cái)富，以挽救和改善世界各地的生命。該承諾將成為現(xiàn)代歷史上最大的一筆慈善捐贈(zèng)。
Bill Gates plans to give away nearly all of his personal wealth and shutter the Gates Foundation within 20 years, the billionaire announced in a blog post on Thursday. "I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world," Gates wrote in his blog.
“蓋茨筆記”網(wǎng)站截圖
據(jù)蓋茨基金會(huì)介紹，截至目前，比爾·蓋茨的個(gè)人凈資產(chǎn)約為1080億美元。根據(jù)最新承諾，未來(lái)20年間，蓋茨基金會(huì)的捐贈(zèng)總額將達(dá)到2000億美元。此次承諾的捐贈(zèng)總額已超過(guò)基金會(huì)當(dāng)前的捐贈(zèng)基金規(guī)模，差額部分將由比爾·蓋茨的個(gè)人財(cái)富逐步補(bǔ)充。
蓋茨在博客中寫道：“當(dāng)前有太多亟待解決的問(wèn)題，我不應(yīng)該把本可以用于幫助他人的資源據(jù)為己有?！彼硎?，等他去世后，人們也許會(huì)說(shuō)很多關(guān)于他的話，但“他死時(shí)還很有錢”絕不會(huì)是其中之一。正因如此，他決定加快步伐，在未來(lái)20年內(nèi)捐出幾乎全部財(cái)富。
"People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them. There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people." "That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned."
比爾·蓋茨 圖源：美國(guó)消費(fèi)者新聞與商業(yè)頻道
為配合這一歷史性轉(zhuǎn)變，蓋茨基金會(huì)理事會(huì)已正式批準(zhǔn)新的時(shí)間表，并修改章程。此前章程規(guī)定，基金會(huì)將在蓋茨去世后20年關(guān)閉；如今，這一修改意味著基金會(huì)各項(xiàng)工作將全面提速，并將在2045年12月31日正式結(jié)束運(yùn)營(yíng)。
Now, Gates has set a specific timeline for disbursing his fortune: The Gates Foundation is set to close its doors on Dec 31, 2045.
未來(lái)20年，蓋茨基金會(huì)的整體戰(zhàn)略不變，同時(shí)將通過(guò)與伙伴們緊密合作，盡最大努力推動(dòng)以下三個(gè)核心目標(biāo)的實(shí)現(xiàn)：助力終結(jié)孕產(chǎn)婦和嬰兒死于可預(yù)防的疾?。淮_保我們的下一代不再遭受致命傳染病的威脅；以及幫助數(shù)億人擺脫貧困，走上繁榮發(fā)展的道路。
Among his goals for the next two decades, he wrote: Further reducing the deaths of mothers and young children from preventable causes; Helping eradicate diseases like polio, malaria, measles and Guinea-worm disease; Funding advances in education and agriculture in African nations to help "hundreds of millions of people break free from poverty".
蓋茨表示，他的慈善理念深受老朋友、同為億萬(wàn)富翁的沃倫·巴菲特（Warren Buffett）的影響。巴菲特已向慈善機(jī)構(gòu)捐出數(shù)百億美元，并承諾在去世后捐出99%的剩余財(cái)富。蓋茨稱巴菲特是“慷慨的終極典范”，“他是第一個(gè)向我介紹放棄一切的人”。
Gates' stance on philanthropy was also influenced by longtime friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, who has already donated tens of billions of dollars to charities and has tasked his children with giving away 99 percent of his remaining wealth after he dies. Buffett "remains the ultimate model of generosity," Gates wrote. "He was the first one who introduced me to the idea of giving everything away."
他指出，過(guò)去25年里，蓋茨基金會(huì)已累計(jì)捐出超過(guò)1000億美元，其中巴菲特的支持至關(guān)重要。未來(lái)20年，基金會(huì)的捐贈(zèng)將翻倍，預(yù)計(jì)總額超過(guò)2000億美元，包括蓋茨未來(lái)的個(gè)人捐贈(zèng)，具體數(shù)額將根據(jù)市場(chǎng)走勢(shì)和通貨膨脹情況而定。
During the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation — powered in part by the generosity of Warren Buffett — we gave away more than $100 billion. Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045. This figure includes the balance of the endowment and my future contributions.
蓋茨基金會(huì)調(diào)整關(guān)閉日期既考慮了任務(wù)的緊迫性，也為了把握當(dāng)下機(jī)遇。2000年至2025年，全球在健康和發(fā)展領(lǐng)域取得非凡進(jìn)展——兒童死亡人數(shù)減半，致命傳染病造成的死亡人數(shù)大幅下降，數(shù)億人擺脫貧困——基金會(huì)希望能夠把握這一契機(jī)。
編輯：左卓
見(jiàn)習(xí)編輯：裴禧盈
來(lái)源：美國(guó)消費(fèi)者新聞與商業(yè)頻道 雅虎財(cái)經(jīng) 界面新聞 澎湃新聞
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