Bill Gates’ Optimism Comes With ‘Footnotes’ After a Tough Year for the World

Bill Gates is well known for his unfailing optimism. A tough 2025, however, has put cracks in that trademark outlook. “These days, my optimism comes with footnotes,” the philanthropist wrote in an annual 2026 letter posted to his website, Gates Notes, on Friday (Jan. 9). Much of Gates’ newfound negativity stems from a troubling reversal in global child mortality, an area long central to the work of the Gates Foundation. Over the past 25 years, child deaths have more than halved from 10 million.