So far, though, the bulk of the ex-couple’s money is still going to the foundation. Since their split, they’ve jointly announced $US2.1 billion for gender equality, $US900 million for nutrition and $US150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
The pair initially wrote a letter as a couple in 2010 for the Giving Pledge, a promise to give away the majority of their money in their lifetime or their wills.
“As part of this pledge, I commit to doing more than writing cheques,” French Gates wrote in her updated letter in November. “I also commit my time, energy and efforts to the work of fighting poverty and advancing equality — for women and girls and other marginalised groups — in the United States and around the world. My giving will continue to focus on the people for whom the barriers to equality are highest.”
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French Gates, through Pivotal, has also worked with MacKenzie Scott, who has become one of the biggest philanthropists in history in a matter of months following her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos. Scott is the world’s 26th-richest person with a $US50.9 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
With their Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, Scott and French Gates, along with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, gave $US40 million in 2021 to support gender equality.
Bloomberg
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Melinda French Gates to no longer donate bulk of fortune to Gates Foundation
Source: Philippines Alive
