Bill and Melinda Gates get divorced: what does it mean for the foundation they created?
The announcement raises questions about the fate of his fortune. The couple helped create the Giving Pledge, but much of Microsoft's money has yet to be donated.
Bill and Melinda Gates, two of the richest people in the world, a couple who reconfigured philanthropy and public health with the fortune Gates amassed as a co-founder of Microsoft, said Monday they are getting divorced.
For decades, the Gates have been powerful forces on the world stage, their vast charitable contributions giving them access to the highest levels of government, business and the nonprofit sector. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of about $ 50 billion, has had immense influence in fields such as global health and early childhood education, and has made great strides in reducing deaths caused by the disease. malaria and other infectious diseases. Over the past year, the couple have been especially visible, commenting regularly on the global fight against COVID-19, as their foundation spent more than $ 1 billion to fight the pandemic.
"After thinking a lot and working hard on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," they said in a statement posted on Twitter.
In the document, the couple noted that they had "built a foundation that works around the world to ensure that all people have a healthy and productive life" and that "we continue to share faith in that mission." However, they assert: "We believe that we can no longer grow together, as a couple, in this next phase of our lives."
The foundation said in a statement that the Gates will remain co-chairs and trustees and that no changes to the organization are expected.
"They will continue to work together to shape and endorse the foundation's strategies, advocate for the foundation's issues, and establish the overall direction of the organization," the statement said.
Still, the divorce raises new questions about the fate of Gates' fortune, much of which has yet to be donated to the Gates Foundation. Gates, 65, a co-founder of Microsoft, is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of $ 124 billion, according to Forbes. The Gates have been married for 27 years and have three children, ages 18 to 25.
"The Gates Foundation is the most important and influential philanthropic entity in the world today," said Rob Reich, professor of political science at Stanford University. "Divorce can have huge repercussions for the foundation and its work around the world."
With a staff of 1,600 employees in offices around the world, the Gates Foundation donates approximately $ 5 billion each year in areas such as public health and global development. For more than two decades, the organization has spent billions to advance vaccines in the developing world, working with pharmaceutical executives to transform the market.
The foundation leveraged its experience and relationships to play an important role in shaping the global response to the pandemic, investing early in vaccine projects and helping shape Covax, the global initiative that organizes the purchase of vaccines for 92 countries. poor and dozens of other nations.
The Gates have received high praise for their efforts, but the foundation has also come under fire for protecting the intellectual property rights of private companies. That strategy has been evident, like never before, because many national governments have pushed for public access to vaccines in order to end the pandemic.
"Bill and Melinda Gates pioneered the great philanthropy we know today," said David Callahan, founder of the Inside Philanthropy website. "Everything has been huge."
A person who worked with both said that after the announcement, the foundation's employees sent text messages and emails trying to find out what had happened and what it might mean for the organization. The consensus was that everything would be fine for now, that person said, but questions were raised about what the effect would be - depending on how amicable the divorce is and how they will work together in the future - for the next time they meet in order to meet. review future plans and strategies.
“While this is obviously a difficult and personally changing time for our co-chairs, they have both assured me of their continued commitment to the foundation they have worked so hard for over the past 20 years,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, in an email sent to employees Monday.
Suzman described "some short-term adjustments in their agendas," but assured that both will continue to participate in meetings inside and outside the foundation, and will speak directly with staff at the next annual employee meeting.
Although the couple did not provide details on how they will structure their finances, they are believed to have a prenuptial agreement. The Gates are the largest farmland owners in the United States and have large investments through Cascade Investment, which manages Gates' personal wealth and owns large stakes in the Four Seasons hotel chain, Canadian National Railway and AutoNation, the concessionaire. largest automobile store in the country, among other companies. The family's homes and properties include a 6,130-square-foot mansion in Washington state, which features amenities like a trampoline room, a screening room, and a multi-room library filled with rare documents and artifacts.
Callahan said Melinda Gates, 56, could have a bigger influence for years to come.
She already has her own firm, Pivotal Ventures, which she has used to invest in issues related to women's economic empowerment. (Bill Gates has his own private office, Gates Ventures, to serve his interests outside of the foundation). If she receives a share of Microsoft's stock from Gates, she could establish a new foundation or make direct donations to other causes she supports.
"We could imagine that Melinda Gates will be a much more progressive donor," Callahan said. "She will be a major force in philanthropy for decades to come."
In 2019, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and his wife, MacKenzie Scott, divorced. At the time, Scott received $ 36 billion worth of Amazon stock and immediately set out to donate billions of dollars in direct grants to a variety of progressive organizations.
Bill Gates has recently retired from some of his business activities. Last year, he left Microsoft's board of directors, as well as the board of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, his close friend.
Buffett has donated billions of dollars to the Gates Foundation over the years and has vowed to leave most of his fortune to the foundation when he dies. In 2010, Buffett and the Gates created the Giving Pledge, a project to get wealthy people to commit to donating most of their money to charitable causes.
The Gates have faced problems in their relationship in recent years, two people close to them said. On several occasions the marriage was on the verge of collapse, but they worked to stick together, acquaintances said. Gates decided to step down from the boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway, in part, so she could spend more time with his family, his friends said.
“When she had trouble making the decision to get married, it was incredibly clear that it wasn't about me, it was about 'Can I strike the right balance between work and family life?'” Melinda Gates said in an interview with The London Sunday Times in 2019. “And I can remember some incredibly hard days in our marriage where I was like, 'Can I do this?'
