Bill Gates Shares His No. 1 Concern That Keeps Him Up At Night: “Another Pandemic”

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has repeatedly warned the public about pressing issues like climate disasters and devastating cyberattacks. However, the two crises that concern him the most are war and pandemics.

The Microsoft co-founder told CNBC Make It that the current global unrest could potentially trigger “a major war,” and even if a large-scale conflict is avoided, “there will be another pandemic, most likely in the next 25 years.”

For Mr Gates, the key question during a future pandemic would be whether nations are better prepared than they were for the outbreak of Covid-19. Reflecting on the United States’ response, he noted, “The country that the world expected to lead and be the model fell short of those expectations.”

In his 2022 book, “How to Prevent the Next Pandemic,” Mr Gates criticised various governments for their lack of preparedness in 2020. He also outlined recommendations for countries worldwide, including stronger quarantine measures, enhanced disease monitoring, and increased investment in vaccine research and development.

Speaking about Covid-19, Mr Gates remarked, “Although some lessons from the coronavirus pandemic have been learned, it’s been far less than I would have expected, sadly. We’re still not fully reflecting on what we did well and where we fell short. Maybe in the next five years, that will improve, but so far, it’s quite surprising.”

Earlier, Microsoft co-founder said that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will be transformative for people in the next five years. Speaking to CNN, he added that there is no need to be scared of the latest technology as it will create new opportunities. The comment comes days after International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said that AI will affect 60 per cent of jobs in advanced economies and 40 per cent across the globe.