Melinda French Gates is resigning as co-chair from the foundation she co-founded with her ex-husband, Bill Gates. Her last day of work will be next month, on June 7.
"This is not a decision I came to lightly," Melinda wrote in a statement posted to social media. "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." In a separate statement, Bill said, "I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work."
The couple launched their foundation in 2000, and divorced in May 2021. At the time of their divorce, they said in a joint statement, "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives."
A year later, Melinda opened up about what led to their divorce, including Bill's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and Bill's alleged affairs. "I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that," she told Gayle King in a CBS Mornings interview. "It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there where I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had."
The Gates Foundation is worth an estimated $75.2 billion, per NBC news. In her resignation statement, Melinda wrote, "Under the terms of my agreement with Bill, in leaving the foundation, I will have an addition $12.5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families. I'll be sharing more about what that will look like in the near future."
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
