Gates said that "we" had known for a while that they wanted to give away the majority of their wealth from Microsoft and use it to make people's lives better.

The substance being tested is that Bill and Melinda Gates had held a settled intention for some time to give away most of their Microsoft wealth for philanthropic purposes. True: dated records from well before 2020 show that intention, for example statements in the 1990s, the founding of the foundation in 2000, or the 2010 Giving Pledge. Records of Gates saying this (e.g. the 2020 annual letter) only confirm that the statement was made; they do not prove its substance. Mostly true: the intention is documented but formed later or less firmly than 'for a while' implies, e.g. only shortly before a major gift. Mixed: the early record is ambiguous, with some statements of intent to give most of their wealth and others that contradict it. Mostly false: the record shows plans to give away only a modest share until much later. False: contemporaneous statements show they did not intend to give away the majority of their wealth.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Bill Gates: Where are his billions going? The Independent · 26 June 2006

   “Bill Gates had long been intending to give away 95 per cent of his wealth before he died.”

2. E2 Bill Gates: Where are his billions going? The Independent · 26 June 2006

   “Gates had always assumed that he would wait until he had retired to begin the redistribution of his wealth. But then, in 1994, his mother Mary Gates died of breast cancer.”

3. E3 Playboy Interview: Bill Gates - The Quotation Index The Quotation Index · July 1994

   “The conversation also covers his childhood, education, family, marriage, reading habits and wealth, including his intention to give most of his fortune away.”

4. E4 Bill Gates The Giving Pledge · 30 November 2021 Own record

   “I decided that the vast majority of my wealth would go toward helping as many people as possible.”

E3 says Gates's 1994 Playboy interview covered his intention to give most of his fortune away, which places a stated intention well before 2020. A 2006 report in The Independent says he had "long been intending" to give away 95 per cent of his wealth, and had always expected to redistribute it after retiring (E1, E2). These independent dated records support the substance of the claim. The evidence speaks mainly to Bill Gates rather than to Bill and Melinda jointly, but nothing in it contradicts the "we" framing.