Melinda French Gates decides to leave the Gates Foundation | Economy

Billionaire Melinda French Gates announced on Monday (13) that she will resign as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest private charities in the world.

In a post on the social media network Her last day at the entity – which she and Bell founded in 2000 – will be June 7 this year.

“I am so proud of the foundation Bill and I have built together and the extraordinary work being done on inequality around the world,” Melinda wrote.

The billionaire also stated in her statement that she will receive an additional foundation upon her departure from the organization 12.5 billion US dollars To devote herself full time to her work “for women and families.” This number, according to Melinda, is included in the agreement concluded with Bill Gates.

The philanthropist’s decision was announced three years after her divorce from Bell. The two were married for 27 years and separated in May 2021. They promised at the time to continue their charitable work together.

That year, Gates also said they had reached an agreement on how to divide their marital assets. But no details have been revealed.

Bill Gates spoke out on Monday after Melinda’s decision was announced.

“I’m sorry Melinda is leaving, but I’m sure it will have a huge impact on her future philanthropic work,” the Microsoft co-founder said in a post on X.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the most powerful and influential forces in global public health. In the past twenty years, the entity has spent more than 50 billion US dollars To bring a business approach to the fight against poverty and disease.

*With information from Reuters