After nearly a quarter-century on the board of directors, Melinda French Gates has just announced her resignation from the foundation that she and her former husband, billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, founded in 2000. Her last day of work there will be on June 7, after which she will dedicate herself–and the $12.5 billion she will be leaving with– to her personal philanthropic work, which revolves around women’s rights and gender equality.
Ms. French Gates stated in a post on X that she is “immensely proud of the foundation and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.” She also thinks that the foundation is “in strong shape”, at least, enough to “move forward”. “This is a critical moment for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world–and those fighting to protect and advance equality are in urgent need of support,” she said of her decision.
The foundation will be renamed “the Gates Foundation” with Mr. Gates becoming its sole chair. The Microsoft co-founder stated he was “sorry to see Melinda leave,” but that she would “have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.”
In 2000, the French-Gates couple decided to merge two separate foundations into one, producing an endowment of around $20 billion. The newly-renamed Gates Foundation is the world’s largest private foundation, covering everything from public health and development to agriculture and education initiatives and programs.
