Melinda Gates has written a fiery essay explaining her reasons for leaving the Bill Gates Foundation to start her own charity.
The philanthropist, 59, announced her departure from the Bill Gates Foundation earlier this month, revealing that she would receive $12.5 billion as part of the deal with her ex-husband who founded Microsoft.
In a New York Times op-ed, Melinda said she is leaving the foundation she co-founded to focus on her own agenda, which has gender equality as a top priority.
“In almost 20 years as an advocate for women and girls, I have learned that there will always be people who say it is not the right time to talk about gender equality,” she wrote.
—Not if you want to be relevant. Not if you want to be effective with world leaders (most of them men). The moment the global agenda fills up, women and girls disappear.
Melinda Gates has written a fiery essay explaining her reasons for leaving the Bill Gates Foundation to start her own charity.
In a New York Times op-ed, Melinda said she is leaving the foundation she co-founded to focus on her own agenda, which has gender equality as a top priority.
‘It’s frustrating and short-sighted… For too long, lack of money has forced organizations fighting for women’s rights to adopt a defensive posture while the enemies of progress go on the offensive. “I want to help equalize the game.”
Melinda goes on to say that women and girls around the world and in the United States face more threats to their freedoms than in a generation, citing the end of Roe V Wade, which protected the right to abortion at the federal level.
“As shocking as it is to contemplate, my 1-year-old granddaughter may grow up with fewer rights than I do,” the mother of three said.
The philanthropist said her new charity will donate $1 billion to the National Women’s Law Center, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Melinda has also offered 12 people her own $20 million grant fund to do whatever they want. Recipients include former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Afghan girls’ education advocate Shabana Basij-Rasikh.
The couple appears with their three children in a family photo from 2019. The children: Jennifer (center), Rory (right) and Phoebe (left) are now 25, 21 and 18 years old.
With a combined fortune of $130 billion at their peak, the Gates were among the richest couples in the world until they divorced in August 2021.
“I look forward to seeing the landscape of funding opportunities through your eyes and the results your approaches generate,” Melinda wrote.
With a combined fortune of $130 billion at their peak, the Gates were among the richest couples in the world until they divorced in August 2021 after Melinda said their marriage had been “irretrievably broken.”
The Gates Foundation is the largest private charitable foundation in the world, with an endowment of $75.2 billion as of December 2023, according to its website.
Bill and Melinda met in 1987, the same year he became the world’s youngest billionaire, at the age of 31.
Bill and Melinda met in 1987, the same year he became the world’s youngest billionaire, at the age of 31. They appear in the 1995 photo.
Their divorce came amid rumors about Gates’ checkered love life after it emerged that she had an affair with a Russian bridge player and that Jeffrey Epstein had attempted to “blackmail” him for the relationship.
They married in Hawaii in 1994 and had three children together: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 24, and Phoebe, 21.
Their divorce came amid rumors about Gates’ checkered love life after it emerged that she had an affair with a Russian bridge player and that Jeffrey Epstein had attempted to “blackmail” him for the relationship.
The Microsoft founder claims he never had any business relationship or friendship with Epstein, and that their meetings were solely to discuss philanthropic projects.
He is dating philanthropist Paula Hurd, 60. They were last seen together at the Academy of Motion Picture Museum in Los Angeles for a gala event celebrating the year’s major scientific achievements.
Melinda’s op-ed comes after she fueled romance rumors when she stepped out in a blinding diamond ring, leading many to wonder if she was planning to walk down the aisle with her ex-Boyfriend Fox News host Jon Du Pre, with whom she was first linked. in 2022.
Melinda’s op-ed comes after she fueled romance rumors when she stepped out with a blinding diamond ring.
Many were shocked when news hit the web that Melinda, 59, and former Fox News host Jon, 65, were dating in 2022, as he had an extremely controversial past.
But the billionaire philanthropist quickly dismissed any suggestion that she and Jon, 65, are heading to the altar when she addressed the speculation in a statement through her rep this morning, confirming that the couple had split and insisting that she had not is currently. committed to anyone.
Many were surprised when news hit the web that Melinda and Jon were dating in 2022, particularly since the former Fox News host seemed to be the complete opposite of her ex-husband, Bill, and also had an extremely controversial past that made him admit it. him to abuse his wife while he was still living with the Mormon religion.
Ex-Mormon Jon once admitted to verbally abusing his previous wife, writing in his memoirs how he would explode into fits of “explosive anger” that left her “crowding” in fear.
He recalled calling his ex a “spoiled, spoiled bitch” in the book, and openly admitted to “embarrassing her in front of his friends” and “blaming” her for any “little thing that happened.” bad’ during the relationship.
While the exact details surrounding the start of their romance remain unclear, Melinda first revealed in March 2022 that she was officially ‘dipping her toes’ into the dating world again following her divorce from Bill.
At the time, she told CBS Mornings host Gayle King that she was “definitely” open to finding love again, and even revealed that she had already met a few suitors.
“It’s interesting at this point,” he said with a chuckle. ‘You know, I’m dipping my toe in that water a little bit.
‘I feel like I’m in a very good place. And I’m really excited about my life and the world – the work ahead of me.”
A month later, she and Jon were seen attending a Brooklyn Nets basketball game together.
And in November 2022, TMZ reported that the philanthropist and her new boyfriend were spending some intimate time at the luxurious five-star Pelican Hill hotel in Newport Beach, California.
They have not been photographed together since.