Melinda Gates is increasingly donating her fortunes via philanthropies in addition to the Gates Foundation worth $50 billion.
Gates wants to spread her wealth donation across philanthropies rather than concentrating and giving bulk to the Gates Foundation as per reports from Dow Jones, who cited people as sources familiar with the matter.
As per Bloomberg News, Melinda and Bill Gates have disclosed their plans of donating their fortunes in an online letter posted in November 2021 after nearly seven months since the couple announced their divorce.
Melinda Gates has been focussing on her firm Pivotal Ventures. This philanthropic investment company was founded in 2015 with the idea of implementing innovative solutions that were centric to problems faced by U.S. women and their families. Melinda Gates’ net worth is $11.4 billion as per Bloomberg Billionaire Index, and Bill Gates has the fourth-highest net worth globally at $130 billion.
Messages to representatives of Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures were not responded to.
Last week, a press release announced the inclusion of new board members in the Gates Foundation. It said that Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffet have pledged to donate a bulk of their fortunes to the Gates Foundation. Later it was clarified after correcting the language saying there were expectations of future pledges.
Bill and Melinda Gates have shaken the control of the Seattle-based Gates foundation adding four new board members to strengthen the governance after the couple’s divorce. They said that there could be nine members on the board in the future, and talks were going on about including members to increase representation across geography, gender, and expertise.
Last year, it was also agreed that Melinda Gates would move out of the Foundation within two years if the ex-couple could not work together. In her departure, Melinda Gates will receive money from Bill Gates for her philanthropic work and endowment compensation from the Foundation.
Bill Gates has already transferred billions of dollars of stocks in companies that include Deere & Co and Canadian National Railway Co. to Melinda Gates after the couple announced the split.
In 2010, the couple had written to the Giving Pledge that they promise to give away most fortune in their will or during their lifetime. In a letter in November, Melinda Gates wrote that she was committed to doing more than just writing checks as part of her pledge in 2010. She also committed to offering her time, energy, and efforts to fight against poverty and push for equality among women, children, and other marginalized groups in the U.S. and globally.
Through Pivotal ventures, Melinda Gates also worked with MacKenzie Scott. After her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, Scott has become one of the most prominent philanthropists in just a few months. At $50.9 billion fortune, Scott is now the 26th richest person globally as per Blomberg Billionaire Index.
Melinda Gates, along with Scott and the family philanthropies of Charles and Lynn Schusterman, gave away in 2021 $40 million to support gender equality.
