Gates Foundation targets record €8.3b spend, plans 500 job cuts

The Gates Foundation, the world’s biggest private philanthropy, is setting a new spending high for 2026, pledging $9 billion as it accelerates efforts in global health, women’s health, vaccines, polio, AI, and US education.

But alongside the cash injection comes a tough pill: up to 500 of its 2,375 staff could be cut by 2030," CEO Mark Suzman told the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

"We will do this thoughtfully, carefully, and systematically," he told the magazine. "We’ll be recalibrating it every year. That 500-person target is a maximum target. I very much hope that we won’t have to do it as large as that number."

"Sunsetting" operations

The foundation’s move comes a year after the foundation announced it would "sunset" and close by 2045, pledging to spend down $200 billion in two decades.

The new budget pushes operating costs to a maximum of $1.25 billion, or about 14% of total spend, a cap Suzman says is needed to avoid ballooning admin as the foundation winds down.

With offices in Africa and India expanding, and certain US programmes winding down, Suzman insists, “We are moving into what I believe is going to be the most impactful period of the Gates Foundation in its history.”