NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the , the nonprofit she and her ex-husband Bill Gates founded and built into one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations over the past 20 years.
鈥淭his is not a decision I came to lightly,鈥� French Gates posted on the X platform on Monday. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
She praised the foundation’s CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation’s board of trustees, which was after the couple in May 2021.
鈥淭he time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy,鈥� French Gates wrote in her statement. She already organizes some of her investments and philanthropic gifts through her organization, Pivotal Ventures, which is not a nonprofit.
Bill Gates thanked French Gates for her 鈥渃ritical鈥� contributions to the foundation in a statement, saying, 鈥淚 am sorry to see her leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.鈥�
The foundation will change its name to the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson said.
French Gates will receive $12.5 billion as part of her agreement with Gates, which she said would commit to future work focused on . The foundation said that personally, not from the foundation’s endowment.
The Gates Foundation is a massive funder of global health, supporting major international institutions like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It also funds research into a wide range of topics like child malnutrition and maternal health as well as and . The foundation has also donated billions to help small .
In the U.S., it funded and research that had sweeping, if mixed, effects, and now, has pledged to increase its support around .
鈥淭he announcement is a surprise for many of us, but I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 spur of the moment,鈥� said Latanya Mapp, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
French Gates has already helped cement a gender equity lens within the Gates Foundation’s programs to ensure it continues on past her departure, Mapp said. The first president of the foundation’s gender equity division was hired in 2020.
When French Gates officially resigns June 7, Bill Gates will be the sole chair of the foundation’s board, though Suzman, as CEO, has taken on a higher profile role in the past three years. For example, he began writing the foundation’s annual letter outlining its priorities in 2022.
Linsey McGoey, a professor of sociology at the University of Essex and author of 鈥淣o Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy,鈥� said French Gates’ departure again raises the question of whether power over the foundation should be more widely distributed.
鈥淪hould there be more than a tight nucleus of people in charge?鈥� asked McGoey, adding that the foundation controls a great deal of funding that affects people who lack 鈥渁 democratic pathway鈥� to contest how it’s used.
In an emailed statement, the foundation said that Suzman announced French Gates’ decision to employees on Monday.
鈥淎fter a difficult few years watching women鈥檚 rights rolled back in the U.S. and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory,鈥� Suzman said of French Gates.
Suzman said he knew many had joined the foundation in part because of their admiration for her advocacy, especially around gender equity.
鈥淚 know how beloved Melinda is here,鈥� Suzman wrote.
The Gates Foundation holds $75.2 billion in its endowment as of December 2023, and announced in January, it planned to spend $8.6 billion through the course of its work in 2024.
The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce from Pivotal Ventures.
___
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP鈥檚 collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP鈥檚 philanthropy coverage, visit .
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
