Melinda French Gates will leave the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

French Gates, who will officially depart on June 7, will continue his philanthropy elsewhere, to the tune of $12.5 billion. The money comes from an agreement with her ex-husband, Bill Gates, and does not come from donations from the foundation. In her post X, she says she will focus on programs “on behalf of women and families.”

“This was not a decision I made lightly,” says French Gates. “I am immensely proud of the foundation Bill and I have built together and the extraordinary work being done to address inequities around the world.”

French Gates and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates divorced in 2021. At the time, the two agreed to continue working together at the foundation with the caveat that they would revisit the agreement after two years. This year marks the end of that two-year period. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said in 2021 that if French Gates decided to leave, she would receive “personal resources from Bill for his philanthropic work” separate from the foundation’s grant.

The foundation’s current executive leadership team and board of directors will remain in their positions.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded several projects targeting poverty, health and education around the world, including donating $250 million to develop vaccines against Covid-19.