Headcount reductions come as the organization accelerates its historic plan to give away $200 billion before closing in 2045. Justin Tallis-WPA Pool/Getty Images
An estimated 500 employees are expected to lose their jobs at the Gates Foundation over the next few years, as the world’s largest charitable foundation prepares to wind down and give away its assets by 2045. Headcount reductions will allow more funds to flow directly toward charitable giving, the organization said yesterday (Jan. 14), when it also announced its largest-ever annual spending budget of $9 billion. The historic payout will accelerate spending across programs, including women’s health, A.I. in U.S. education, polio eradication and vaccine development.
The Gates Foundation, founded in 2000 by Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, has paid out more than $100 billion since its inception and plans to give away another $200 billion over the next two decades before shutting down. The funds will come from both the foundation’s endowment and Gates’ personal fortune, which currently stands at $104.1 billion. As of July 2025, the endowment had around $86 billion under management.
This year’s record budget will bolster the organization’s plan to accelerate giving in priority areas such as eliminating maternal and child deaths from preventable causes and protecting future generations from deadly infectious diseases. Around 70 percent of the 2026 budget will be earmarked for these two goals, with the remainder focused on economic opportunity efforts, including support for American education and agricultural development in low- and middle-income countries.
As the foundation ramps up grantmaking, it is tightening spending elsewhere. Its board has approved a cap on annual operating expenditures at $1.25 billion, representing about 14 percent of its total $9 billion budget. Operating costs accounted for 13 percent of spending last year and, if no action was taken, were projected to rise to 18 percent by the end of the decade.
“The foundation’s 2045 closure deadline gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make transformative progress, but doing so requires us to focus relentlessly on the people we serve and the outcomes we want to deliver,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, in a statement.
A reduction in operating expenditures will notably lower the foundation’s target headcount of 2,375 positions, cutting up to 500 roles by 2030. Some of the impacted positions will be linked to specific programs—such as the foundation’s Inclusive Financial Services and Early Learning work—that are expected to wind down over the next few years. Otherwise, staffing targets and timelines will be reviewed annually, with the salaries and benefits of remaining employees unaffected by the changes.
The 500 figure is not set in stone but a “maximum target,” Suzman told the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He said layoffs will occur incrementally rather than all at once, and expressed hope that the final number will come in below the estimate. Operating costs will also be reduced through cuts to travel and facilities.
“While progress is possible, it remains fragile,” said Suzman in his statement. “Delivering on our mandate requires a commitment to move forward with transparency with our employees and partners and disciplined stewardship of the foundation’s finite resources.”
