Elizabeth Franz/Reuters
Melinda French Gates, Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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CNN
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Melinda French Gates announced Monday that she is stepping down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she has served as chair since 2000.
As part of her separation agreement with ex-husband Bill Gates, French Gates said she would receive an additional $12.5 billion for philanthropy. She said French Gates plans to focus her donations on organizations focused on women and families.
“This is not a decision I have made lightly,” she said in a statement. Posted in X. “I am extremely proud of the foundation that Bill and I have built together and the extraordinary work we are doing to address inequality around the world.”
French Gates plans to leave the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on June 7, and said he would talk more about his future philanthropic plans in the near future.
The foundation will be renamed the Gates Foundation and Bill Gates will become its sole chairman, CEO Mark Suzman announced Monday.
“While we are sad to see Melinda leave, we are confident that she will have a tremendous impact on philanthropy in the future,” Bill Gates said in a separate statement Monday. Posted in X.
“Looking to the future, I remain committed to the Foundation's work across all its strategies and to realizing the opportunities we have to continue to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.” he wrote.
French Gates' departure had been telegraphed for several years. Bill Gates and French Gates announced their divorce in May 2021. At the time, they said they would be on a sort of trial period until 2023 to determine whether they could continue working with each other to oversee the large philanthropic foundation.
Suzman announced a contingency plan in July 2021 “to ensure continuity of the Foundation's operations.”
“If either of us determines that we are unable to continue working together as co-chairs after two years, Mr. French Gates will resign as co-chair and director,” Suzman said.
Suzman said at the time that Bill Gates would retain control and essentially buy French Gates out of the foundation. French Gates will receive “personal resources” from Gates for his philanthropy, but these will be resources “completely separate from the foundation's donations.”
The foundation did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.