Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, transferred nearly $8 billion to his ex-wife Melinda French Gates as part of their divorce settlement, a tax filing has revealed. The donation was made to her philanthropic organisation, Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, and was recorded as a $7.88 billion gift in 2024.
The couple announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage. In May 2024, French Gates resigned as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has spent $53.8 billion since 2000 on health, gender equality, global development and education.
Upon her resignation, French Gates wrote on X that she would have an additional $12.5 billion to commit to her work on behalf of women and families. Most of that sum has reportedly gone to Pivotal Philanthropies, a nonprofit established in 2022 under Pivotal, an organisation she founded in 2015 to accelerate social progress for women and young people.
A spokesperson for Pivotal confirmed to The Independent that the donation was part of the agreement when French Gates left the Gates Foundation, and that the $12.5 billion commitment has been fulfilled. It remains unclear where the remaining $4.62 billion was allocated.
Separately, French Gates has committed $2 billion to expanding women's power and influence, which is presumably separate from Gates' donation. Before the transfer, Gates' net worth was $118 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Forbes estimates French Gates' net worth at $29.4 billion, with a divorce settlement worth $25 billion.
