Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates

Melinda French Gates volition measurement down arsenic co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit she and her ex-husband Bill Gates founded and built into 1 of the world's largest philanthropic organizations implicit the past 20 years.

"This is not a determination I came to lightly," French Gates posted connected the X level connected Monday. "I americium immensely arrogant of the instauration that Bill and I built unneurotic and of the bonzer enactment it is doing to code inequities astir the world."

She praised the foundation's CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation's committee of trustees, which was importantly expanded aft the mates announced their divorcement successful May 2021.

"The clip is close for maine to determination guardant into the adjacent section of my philanthropy," French Gates wrote successful her statement. She organizes immoderate of her investments and philanthropic gifts done her organization, Pivotal Ventures, which is not a nonprofit.

Bill Gates thanked French Gates for her "critical" contributions to the instauration successful a statement, saying, "I americium atrocious to spot her leave, but I americium definite she volition person a immense interaction successful her aboriginal philanthropic work."

French Gates volition person $12.5 cardinal arsenic portion of her statement with Gates, which she said would perpetrate to aboriginal enactment focused connected women and families.

Previously, the instauration has said that Gates would proviso those funds and they would not travel retired of the foundation's endowment. In an emailed statement, the instauration said that Suzman announced the determination to employees connected Monday.

"After a hard fewer years watching women's rights rolled backmost successful the U.S. and astir the world, she wants to usage this adjacent section to absorption specifically connected altering that trajectory," Suzman said of French Gates.

Suzman said helium knew galore had joined the instauration successful portion due to the fact that of their admiration for her advocacy, particularly astir sex equity.

"I cognize however beloved Melinda is here," Suzman wrote.

The Gates Foundation holds $75.2 cardinal successful its endowment arsenic of December 2023, and announced successful January, it planned to walk $8.6 cardinal done the people of its enactment successful 2024.

The Associated Press receives fiscal enactment for quality sum successful Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for quality sum of women successful the workforce from Pivotal Ventures.