All of the headlines are trying to run with the narrative that this is due to Trump pressure, but I can’t see a clear mechanism for this. Does anyone have a good read on why he’s changed his mind? (Recent events feel like: Buffet moving his money to his kids’ foundations & retiring from BH, divorce)
I have only speculation, but it’s plausible to me that developments in AI could be playing a role. The original decision in 2000 was to sunset “several decades after [Bill and Melinda Gates’] deaths.” Likely the idea was that handpicked successor leadership could carry out the founders’ vision and that the world would be similar enough to the world at the time of their death or disability for that plan to make sense for several decades after the founders’ deaths. To the extent that Gates thought that the world is going to change more rapidly than he believed in 2000, this plan may look less attractive than it once did.
“A few years ago, I began to rethink that approach. More recently, with the input from our board, I now believe we can achieve the foundation’s goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners.”
It seems it was more of a question of whether they could grant larger amounts effectively, which he was considering for multiple years (I don’t know how much of that may be possible due to aid cuts).
All of the headlines are trying to run with the narrative that this is due to Trump pressure, but I can’t see a clear mechanism for this. Does anyone have a good read on why he’s changed his mind? (Recent events feel like: Buffet moving his money to his kids’ foundations & retiring from BH, divorce)
I have only speculation, but it’s plausible to me that developments in AI could be playing a role. The original decision in 2000 was to sunset “several decades after [Bill and Melinda Gates’] deaths.” Likely the idea was that handpicked successor leadership could carry out the founders’ vision and that the world would be similar enough to the world at the time of their death or disability for that plan to make sense for several decades after the founders’ deaths. To the extent that Gates thought that the world is going to change more rapidly than he believed in 2000, this plan may look less attractive than it once did.
Why not what seems to be the obvious mechanism: the cuts to USAID making this more urgent and imperative. Or am I missing something?
“A few years ago, I began to rethink that approach. More recently, with the input from our board, I now believe we can achieve the foundation’s goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners.”
It seems it was more of a question of whether they could grant larger amounts effectively, which he was considering for multiple years (I don’t know how much of that may be possible due to aid cuts).