Two years is a relatively long time. These last couple of years have probably felt like a lifetime for the development community, which has seen the sector turned upside down. For the Gates Foundation, it’s been a time of historic change as well.
It’s been two years since Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, released his last annual letter, the latest iteration of which was published today. The delay was due to the foundation’s work quietly planning for its sunset in 2045 and concurrent spending-down of $200 billion during that time frame.
For Suzman, the difference between this letter and the one in 2024 “does feel like a different universe in the global development space,” he told Devex during a recent interview, noting that 2025 was also the first year in the 21st century where preventable child mortality increased, rather than decreased.
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
