Bill Gates gave $8 billion to ex-wife Melinda's foundation

Bill Gates has fixed astir $8 cardinal to a instauration tally by his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, taxation records show, shedding caller airy connected the erstwhile couple’s divorce. The outgo is 1 of the largest charitable donations ever made public.

Gates transferred the funds successful 2024 to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Melinda French Gates that focuses connected advancing opportunities for women and families. The donation totaled $7.88 billion, per the New York Times citing taxation filings.

The outgo formed portion of a broader $12.5 cardinal committedness Gates agreed to arsenic portion of the divorcement settlement. French Gates referred to that statement successful May 2024 erstwhile she stepped down arsenic co-chair of the Gates Foundation, saying the funds would enactment her autarkic philanthropic work.

A spokesperson for Pivotal confirmed to Fortune that the afloat $12.5 cardinal statement has present been completed. Gates’ $7.88 cardinal donation accounts for astir of that amount, though it remains unclear however the remaining astir $4.6 cardinal was distributed. Some of the funds whitethorn person gone to French Gates’ for-profit entity, Pivotal Ventures, which is not required to publically disclose fiscal filings.

The donation importantly boosted Pivotal Philanthropies’ fiscal footing. According to taxation documents, the foundation’s assets roseate from $604 cardinal astatine the extremity of 2023 to astir $7.4 cardinal successful 2024, making it 1 of the largest backstage foundations successful the United States.

Gates and French Gates divorced successful 2021 aft 27 years of matrimony and 3 children together. Although they initially continued moving unneurotic connected philanthropy, their ceremonial concern ended successful 2024. The fiscal presumption of their separation were not publically elaborate astatine the time.

Gates said past twelvemonth that helium plans to springiness distant astir each of his idiosyncratic luck implicit the coming decades. In a May 2025 blog station helium said helium intends to donate astir 99% of his wealthiness to foundation and velocity up the gait of his giving.

Under the plan, the Gates Foundation would walk down its resources and permanently adjacent successful 2045. Gates said the extremity is to deploy funds sooner alternatively than later, focusing connected planetary wellness challenges and different urgent needs.

While the last magnitude volition beryllium connected markets and inflation, Gates said helium expects the instauration to walk much than $200 billion. He said the faster timeline reflects the standard of planetary problems helium believes necessitate contiguous attention, including infectious diseases and kid health.