Updated: Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Updated: Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

Melinda French Gates said on Monday she would resign as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that she helped lead for about 24 years.

In May 2021, the couple announced their plans to divorce after 27 years of marriage. Despite their breakup, they agreed to continue working together at the foundation.

But that other agreement has broken down too.

“After careful consideration and reflection, I have decided to step down from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” Melinda, 59, wrote in a statement on Instagram on Monday, May 13.

“My last day at the foundation will be June 7.”

As part of her separation agreement from former husband and founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, Melinda said she would receive additional $12.5 billion for her charitable work.

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According to her, she plans to put the funds in her next venture of helping women and their families.

“I will tell you more about what this will look like in the near future,” she added.

Melinda also said, “This is not a decision I came to lightly.

“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.”

Three years after separation, Melinda resigns as co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates