Melinda French Gates resigns from the Gates Foundation

Melinda French Gates, former wife of Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, on Monday announced that she would resign from her role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

“After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This is not a decision I came to lightly,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post. 

Her last day of work at the foundation will be June 7.

“I want to thank Melinda for her critical contributions to the Foundation from its very beginning. As a co-founder and co-chair, Melinda has been instrumental in shaping our strategies and initiatives, significantly impacting global health and gender equality. I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work,” Bill Gates, Former CEO of Microsoft, posted on X. 

French Gates expressed her confidence in CEO Mark Suzman and the foundation’s team.

“I am taking this step with full confidence that the foundation is in strong shape, with its extremely capable CEO Mark Suzman, the Executive Leadership Team, and an experienced board of trustees in place to ensure all its important work continues,” she mentioned. 

She plans to move forward to start a new philanthropic project. 

Acknowledging the crucial moment for women and girls globally, Melinda Gates noted the urgent need to support those striving for equality. She revealed that under the terms of her agreement with Bill Gates in leaving the foundation, she will have an additional $12.5 billion to commit to her efforts for women and families. She mentioned that she will be sharing more details on this initiative soon.

“I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world. I care deeply about the foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touched by its work,” she wrote in her statement.

The foundation was started by Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates in 2000. They have spent $53.8 billion since 2000 on various initiatives.