Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced that she is leaving her position as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

In a post on the social media platform X, Ms Gates revealed that her choice of walking away from the organisation was difficult. “This is not a decision I came to lightly,” she wrote.

BMGF CEO Mark Suzman confirmed the news through a statement published on the foundation’s website.

“I am writing to share some important news. Melinda French Gates has decided to resign from her role as co-chair of the foundation. Her last day of work at the foundation will be June 7,” Suzman wrote.

“She made this decision, after considerable reflection, based on how she wants to spend the next chapter of her philanthropy.”

Starting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

French Gates and then-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, started BMGF in 2000.

The foundation’s primary goals include helping improve health care and reducing extreme poverty globally. It also ran programs focused on expanding education opportunities and providing better access to information technology in the US.

As of December 2023, the BMGF had an estimated endowment of about US$75.2 billion. Most of the endowment came from donations from Gates, French Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffet.

In 2021, Gates and French Gates announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage. While the two decided to part ways, both of them pledged to continue the philanthropic work that they started.

When the announcement was made public, Gates and French Gates said they would stay as co-chairs and trustees of the foundation. They also promised all members of the BMGF that there would be no changes to the organisational structure.

Though she is leaving the BMGF, French Gates expressed her pride in her work as part of the foundation.

“I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together,” she wrote in a statement.

French Gates said she will allocate an additional US$12.5 billion to help fund her own charitable programs for women and families, as part of an agreement with her ex-husband.

Reaction to French Gates' resignation

Organisations in the charitable space recognised French Gates’ contributions to helping improve the lives of millions of people worldwide. One of these was Paid Leave For All, a group dedicated to pushing for federal paid leave legislation.

Paid Leave For All said French Gates’ support over the years provided a counterbalance to other funders who were slow to back advocacies such as theirs.

“If you’re only willing to invest in a thing that you think is surely going to win in the short term, then you’re not making much of an impact,” Paid Leave For All Founding Director Dawn Huckelbridge said.

Meanwhile, Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, talked about how French Gates, through the organisation Pivotal Ventures, supported programs focused on helping women over the years.

“I have to say, they were one of the most considerate funders, if I can put it that way, in that they provided funding for general support and asked only that we could make ourselves available to give guidance and advice early on,” she said.

Walsh described French Gates as having the capacity to give and focus on gender equity, unlike any other funder or foundation.

What’s next for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?

Suzman reassured the foundation’s benefactors and partners that their work would continue even after French Gates’ departure.

“With Melinda and Bill’s strong encouragement, I am more committed than ever to leading the foundation,” Suzman said.

“I’ve also spoken with the Executive Leadership Team and each of our independent board members, who are all committed to carrying out the foundation’s work.”

Suzman said the BMGF believes its role is more important than ever, especially as the world continues to face “profound inequity and suffering”.

Image credit: Geek Wire