Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of "killing" children with USAID cuts

Driving the news: Gates vowed to give away "virtually all" of his wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next two decades, he announced Thursday.

• Gates' "key aspirations" to guide the foundation's funding over the next two decades center on promoting child and maternal health and fighting infectious diseases and poverty.
• Those target areas overlap with the USAID programs from which Musk and the Trump administration cut billions.

What they're saying: Gates said that the USAID cuts abandoned food and medicines in warehouses and threatened the resurgence of diseases like HIV and polio.

• "The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," he told the Financial Times.
• Gates also cites the grants that Musk cancelled in Gaza and Mozambique, which are meant to prevent the spread of HIV from mothers to babies – but which Musk has falsely said are used to fund condoms.
• "I'd love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money," Gates said.

• Musk and DOGE did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.

Catch up quick: Gates and Musk's rivalry stem from Gates' criticisms of Musk's use of his wealth.

• According to Walter Isaacson's 2023 biography on Elon Musk, Gates tried to influence Musk's approach to philanthropy in 2022. In 2024, Musk became the first person whose net worth hit $400 billion.
• According to Isaacson, Musk told Gates that "most philanthropy was bullshit."
• The Gates Foundation — which was founded 25 years ago by Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates — has committed billions to philanthropic efforts and has made vast contributions to improving public health around the globe.