Bill Gates Blames Elon Musk for ‘Killing Children,’ Warns of Global Crisis

Bill Gates, recently making headlines that his Gates Foundation will eventually be winding down operations by the year 2045, has sharply condemned Elon Musk for "killing" children in poor nations by cutting the USAID budget.

Musk, serving as a senior adviser to President Trump and the chief of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is also undertaking cost-saving efforts across the U.S. government.

"Picture of richest man in the world shooting poorest kids in the world is uncomfortable," Gates said in an interview to The Financial Times, explaining that Musk's move to discontinue USAID was one of "ignorance." Gates added that the department had been a useful pipeline for American aid, and the move has had severe repercussions.

In a previous this year, Musk's DOGE team finished closing down USAID, which Musk in a February X (formerly Twitter) tweet referred to as a "criminal organization" that was "time to die." Gates also said the sudden withdrawal of funds had disastrous consequences, allowing life-saving medicine and food to spoil in warehouses. He also said it could also cause the resurgence of diseases such as polio, measles, and HIV to affected communities.

Gates elaborated on the issue in greater detail, stating that the reduction in funding had resulted in grants being pulled from a hospital in Gaza Province in Mozambique that had been assisting pregnant women in preventing HIV transmission to their children. Musk's team incorrectly assumed the funds were being used to provide condoms to Hamas in Gaza, resulting in the reduction of aid. Gates invited Musk to visit the children who are now HIV-infected due to the decrease in funding, which highlighted the disastrous consequences of making such a decision.

In another statement, Bill Gates declared that he will donate almost his entire wealth over the next 20 years via the Gates Foundation to improve lives globally.

He also stated that the foundation will close in 2045. Gates described the change of direction for the foundation as follows: after reevaluating the initial plan, he now feels that they can accomplish their mission within a shorter period, with more investment and more focus for their partners.