Melinda French Gates is no longer planning to give away most of her fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a development that follows the finalisation of her divorce from Bill Gates.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, French Gates now intends to distribute her wealth to a variety of charitable organisations outside of the Gates Foundation.
French Gates is worth $US11.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and Bill Gate’ net worth sits at $US130 billion.
In an updated letter for the Giving Pledge, published in November, Gates wrote: “I recognise the absurdity of so much wealth being concentrated in the hands of one person, and I believe the only responsible thing to do with a fortune this size is give it away—as thoughtfully and impactfully as possible.”
“The ultimate goal of any philanthropist should be to render the need for philanthropy obsolete,” she said.
Gates also added that giving away money “your family will never need” is not “an especially noble act”.
“There’s no question in my mind that the real standard for generosity is set by the people who give even when it means going without. That’s why, as part of this pledge, I commit to doing more than writing checks.
“I also commit my time, energy, and efforts to the work of fighting poverty and advancing equality—for women and girls and other marginalized groups—in the United States and around the world.”
The WSJ reports that French Gates will still make donations to the Gates Foundation, but would focus on other charitable endeavours.
Both Bill and Melinda remain co-chairs of the Gates Foundation, but last year agreed that if they could not work together, she would step down from the role within two years.
In 2015, French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures, a company focused on advancing equality for women and families in the US.
Last year, Melinda Gates, MacKenzie Scott and Lynn Schusterman joined forces to donate $US40 million to four organisations that promote gender equality.