Melinda French Gates leaves foundation with $12.5 billion

MElinda French Gates is stepping down as co-chair of the $75 billion foundation she helped run with her ex-husband, Bill Gates.

Her last day will be June 7 and she will receive an additional $12.5 billion to use for her own charitable purposes as part of a settlement with her ex-husband, French Gates said Monday in a statement.

“I am taking this step with full confidence that the foundation is in good shape,” French Gates, 59, said in the statement. “The time is right to move on to the next chapter of my philanthropy,” which she added will focus on women and families.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – which will be known as the Gates Foundation when she leaves – is one of the largest private foundations on the planet, with a budget of $8.6 billion for 2024. Bill Gates will become its sole president, the organization said .

“I’m sorry to see Melinda go, but I’m sure she will have a huge impact on her future philanthropic work,” Gates said in an X post.

The fate of the foundation’s leadership was called into question after the couple announced they were divorcing in May 2021. In July of that year, they said they were setting a two-year deadline to decide whether they could work together, and that if they couldn’t, French Gates would receive money from Gates for his philanthropic work, separate from the foundation’s donation.

Read more: Gates has two years to decide whether they can share the foundation

In September 2022, French Gates said she was “completely committed” to the foundation and working with her ex-husband.

French Gates has his own charity called Pivotal Ventures, which he started in 2015. By the time the couple divorced, Pivotal had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in more than 150 organizations. It uses grants as well as venture capital to focus on empowering women, including getting more women into tech jobs and elected to public office, and advocating for paid family leave.

Bill Gates, 68, former CEO and co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is the fifth richest person in the world, with a fortune of US$152.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while French Gates is worth US$ 13.3 billion.

French Gates, through Pivotal, also worked with MacKenzie Scott, who became one of the biggest philanthropists in history following her 2019 divorce from Amazon.com Inc. co-founder Jeff Bezos.

Following French Gates’ departure, the foundation’s board will consist of Gates, CEO Mark Suzman and five other people appointed in the years following the divorce.

“This is difficult news for me too,” Suzman wrote in an email to employees on Monday. “I truly admire Melinda and will truly miss working with and learning from her.”