Melinda French Gates said Monday she’s going to step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she has co-chaired since 2000.
As a part of her separation agreement from her former husband Bill Gates, French Gates said she would receive an extra $12.5 billion for her charitable work. French Gates said she plans to focus her donations on groups that concentrate on women and families.
“This is not a decision I made lightly,” she said in a press release Posted on X. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I have built together and the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequalities around the world.”
French Gates said she plans to go away the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on June 7 and can share more about her future charitable plans within the near future.
The organization will change its name to the Gates Foundation and Bill Gates will change into sole chairman, the inspiration's CEO Mark Suzman announced Monday.
“I'm sorry to see Melinda go, but I'm sure she will have a great impact on her future philanthropic work,” Bill Gates also wrote in a separate statement on Monday Posted on X.
“Looking forward, I remain fully committed to the Foundation’s work across all of our strategies and seizing the opportunities we have to continue to improve the lives of millions of people around the world,” he wrote.
French Gates' departure had been announced for several years. Bill Gates and French Gates announced their divorce in May 2021. They said on the time that they might give themselves a form of probationary period until 2023 to work out whether or not they could proceed to work together to oversee their massive nonprofit foundation.
Suzman resigned in July 2021 Emergency plan “To ensure the continuity of the foundation’s work.”
“If either decides after two years that they can no longer work together as co-chair, French Gates will step down as co-chair and trustee,” Suzman said.
Gates will retain control and essentially buy French Gates out of the inspiration, Suzman said on the time. French Gates would receive “personal resources” from Gates for her own philanthropic work — resources that may be “entirely separate from the endowment of the foundation.”
French Gates also founded Pivotal Ventures in 2015, a separate charity focused on removing barriers for minorities and girls within the United States. She donated $1 billion to the organization in 2019.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation didn’t immediately reply to CNN's request for comment.
This is a developing story and shall be updated.
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