The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will change its name following Melinda Gates’ surprise resignation announcement on Monday.
“We will be changing our name to the Gates Foundation to honor Bill Sr.’s legacy and Melinda’s contributions, and Bill will become the sole Chair of the foundation,” Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO, said in a statement.
Melinda Gates, who divorced the Microsoft co-founder in 2021, announced that she will step down as co-chair of the philanthropy she co-founded with her ex-husband 24 years ago, which has since grown to become one of the world’s largest private charitable organizations.
“Under the terms of my agreement with Bill, in leaving the foundation, I will have an additional $12.5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families,” Melinda posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy.”
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates speak during the Goalkeepers event at the Lincoln Center on September 26, 2018, in New York. French Gates has said in a new interview that it wasn’t “one specific…
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
Suzman wrote in an email to employees that Melinda “has new ideas about the role she wants to play in improving the lives of women and families in the U.S. and around the world.”
“After a difficult few years watching women’s rights rolled back in the U.S. and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory,” Suzman wrote.
Bill and Melinda Gates finalized their divorce three years ago after 27 years of marriage. They had pledged at the time to continue their philanthropic work together.
“I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work,” Bill Gates wrote on X.
The foundation will change its logos and signage everywhere they appear, but “this will take time,” a spokesperson told Newsweek.
Suzman reassured staffers their jobs will not be impacted by the reshuffling. There are currently 2,206 foundation employees.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent more than $59 billion to combat poverty and diseases since its inception in 2000. Last year, the charity funded grantees in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as work in 135 countries.
Melinda will not bring the foundation’s work with her when she leaves on June 7, according to Suzman.
“I truly admire Melinda, and I will deeply miss working with her and learning from her,” she said.
“Bill and Melinda created the foundation with a simple belief: All lives have equal value,” Suzman said. “Even in this transition, it’s important to remember that we are part of something historic. It’s a unique privilege to be a part of an institution that exists solely to make the world better — with the resources to make a real difference.”
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