Melinda Gates resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but receives a considerable sum under the terms of the agreement with her ex-husband.
The 59-year-old revealed that she would receive $12.5 billion as part of the deal with the Microsoft founder, who is also the father of her three children.
Melinda said the move was part of her transition into “the next chapter of my philanthropy” in a statement posted to X.
“After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” the statement read. “My last day of work at the foundation will be June 7.”
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.”
Melinda Gates resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but receives a considerable sum under the terms of the agreement with her ex-husband.
The Gates couple divorced in August 2021 (pictured: Bill and Melinda Gates on CBS’s Toyota Greenroom in 2019 when they were still together).
In the photo: Bill Gates, billionaire ex-husband of Melinda Gates.
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.
In 2015, Melinda founded her own organization, Pivotal Ventures, whose goal is to implement innovative solutions to problems affecting American women and families.
On Monday, Melinda said she was “immensely proud” of the foundation’s “extraordinary work in tackling inequalities around the world” and left it with “extremely capable CEO Mark Suzman” and the rest of the leadership team.
“The time has come to move on to the next chapter of my philanthropy,” he added.
‘This is a critical time for women and girls in the US and around the world, and those fighting to protect and promote equality need urgent support.
‘Under the terms of my agreement with Bill, upon leaving the foundation, I will have an additional $12.5 million to commit to my work on behalf of women and families.
“I will share more about what that will look like in the near future.”
Bill and Melinda met in 1987, the same year he became the world’s youngest billionaire, at the age of 31.
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 68-year-old Microsoft founder claims he never had any business relationship or friendship with Epstein, and that their meetings were solely to discuss philanthropic projects.
Melinda French Gates was seen wearing a large diamond ring on her engagement finger after arriving in New York City in a private helicopter.
A closer view of Melinda’s ring finger gives an idea of the size of the diamond.
Melinda Gates ditched her stunning sparkler as she joined her ex-husband Bill for the first time in eight months to mark their daughter Jennifer’s medical school graduation.
The ex-wife of Microsoft billionaire Bill, 68, was seen strolling around New York City to commemorate Jennifer’s special day when she finished medical school.
The couple released a statement at the time of their split and revealed that it wasn’t just “a moment” that led to it.
Bill Gates enjoyed a date night with his girlfriend, Paula Hurd, widow of Oracle’s CEO, at the star-studded 2024 Annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony over the weekend.
Melinda recently sparked new romance rumors after she was spotted wearing a flashy new diamond ring.
However, he chose not to wear it last week when he met Bill for the first time in eight months to commemorate his Daughter Jennifer, 28, graduates from medical school.
They were photographed in New York City on Friday in honor of their eldest son’s milestone, and the special occasion brought the estranged lovers together for the first time in nearly a year.
Jennifer, who has been a residency candidate at Mt. Sinai’s pediatrics program, seemed to appreciate her parents putting stress aside to focus on her accomplishment as she beamed from ear to ear.
She was seen walking to the exclusive Marea restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her younger sister Phoebe, 21.
Meanwhile, Bill 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.
