Melinda French Gates is set to end 24 years as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the announcement her resignation rippling across the philanthropic world.  

French-Gates influence has shaped modern-day philanthropy, particularly in pushing philanthropists to engage more with gender equality, women’s education and global health.  

‘Melinda has been so influential to philanthropy, not just because of the checks she’s written, but because of her mastery of the issues she cares about. Her combination of curiosity, intelligence, and commitment to getting proximate to those on the frontlines, are hallmarks of her philanthropy that have influenced countless others to go deeper in their giving,’ said Rena Greifinger, managing director of the Maverick Collective, founded by French Gates. 

Greifinger added that French Gates has ‘demonstrated that choosing between local and global is a false binary that no longer fits in our hyper-connected world. We hope she will continue to use her power and influence to help global efforts to restore rights and protect women’s access to healthcare.’

Warren Buffet, known as one of the wealthiest men in the US, said the foundation was losing its ‘smarter’ half.  

French Gates will receive $12.5 billion upon leaving the foundation, which she has promised to fund new philanthropies ‘on behalf of women and families’. Her company Pivotal Ventures has a $1 billion mission investing in projects and causes that advance American women’s path into politics.  

In a statement posed on X, French Gates said the decision had not come ‘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. I care deeply about our foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touched by its work,’ she added.  

Both Bill and Melinda Gates have wielded huge influence over philanthropy. Arguably, their outstanding wealth and celebrity has weilded disproportionate influence.  

‘Bill and Melinda each have their own priorities. If you can spend the kind of money that they have at their disposal you inevitably shape global health priorities,’ Ellen t’Hoen, a public health advocate and lawyer who worked on taking big pharma to court in South Africa, told Alliance.

She added on social media platform X: ‘When global health financing priorities depend on the terms of a divorce’.   

French Gates has a net worth of $13.3 billion, while Bill Gates’ personal wealth is valued at $153 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

The Gates Foundation has an endowment of $75.2 billion and has almost 2000 employees on its books.  

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance Magazine