Bill Gates has pledged to continue increasing his donations to education, health and economic development despite a sharp fall in the value of his endowment, caused by the recent collapse in global financial markets.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gates stressed that he would continue to expand annual disbursements by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will total about $3bn (€2.4bn, £2bn) this year, unless "the world completely devalued".