Melinda French Gates to resign from Gates Foundation: ‘Not a decision I came to lightly’

Melinda French Gates is stepping down from the famous Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable institutions in the world, the organization co-founder announced on Monday.

“After careful thought and reflection I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair,” Gates, the ex-wife of billionaire Bill Gates, wrote in a statement posted to multiple online platforms including her LinkedIn and Instagram pages. “This is not a decision I came to lightly.”

She said her last day of work with the Seattle-based global health and development charity will be June 7.

Apr 30, 2022; Washington, DC, USA; Melinda French Gates arrives at the White House CorrespondentsÕ Association annual dinner at the Washington Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-America today ORG XMIT: USAT-488189 ORIG FILE ID: 20220430_gma_usa_1924.jpg

“I 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,” she wrote. “I care deeply about the foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touched by its work.”

For more than 30 years, the Gates Foundation has donated $77.6 billion in charitable contributions.

“I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work,” Bill Gates wrote in a separate statement posted on X Monday. “Looking ahead, I remain fully committed to the Foundation’s work across all our strategies, and to realizing the opportunities we have to continue improving the lives of millions around the world.”

Announcement comes on heels of divorce

The announcement comes three years after the philanthropic couple announced their split in May 2021.

They finalized their divorced in August 2021.

Their separation drew surprise from most across the globe.

“I think we are all surprised on some level; many of us look up to Bill and Melinda Gates, particularly in this COVID era,” Leslie Barbara, an attorney in divorce and family law with Davidoff Hutcher & Citron in New York, told America today when the powerhouse couple announced their divorce on X.

Couple initially said they would continue to work together

The same year they divorced, the Melinda Gates and Bill Gates said they would continue to work together at the foundation, founded in 1994.

“No changes to their roles or the organization are planned,” the foundation said in a statement at the time. “They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall direction.”