Melinda and her ex-husband, the co-founder of Microsoft, founded and jointly led one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the world in 2000. The main goals of the foundation are to counteract poverty and fight against diseases that plague poorer countries. Since 2000, the organization has spent $53.8 billion on charity.
She will now engage in work for women and girls
Melinda French Gates announced that she is “extremely proud” of the foundation's achievements, but is opening the “next chapter of philanthropy” and will now engage in work for women and girls, for which she will allocate $12.5 billion.
“This is a critical time for women and girls in the United States and around the world, and those committed to fighting for equal rights urgently need help,” Ms. Gates said.
Melinda and Bill Gates divorced in 2021, but they assured then that they intended to continue to cooperate within the foundation, which will now be renamed the Gates Foundation.
The charitable activities of Bill and Melinda Gates' organization allowed to halve the mortality rate among children under five years of age compared to 1990. In 2020, their foundation allocated approximately USD 1.75 billion to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. In 2023, it was involved in charitable activities in 135 countries and 48 US states. The organization is financed by Gates and the famous American billionaire investor Warren Buffet, AFP reports.
