Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has transferred nearly Sh 1 trillion (approximately $8 billion) to a nonprofit organisation founded by his former wife, Melinda French Gates, as part of the financial arrangements tied to their high-profile divorce.
According to PEOPLE, the former couple restructured both their shared assets and philanthropic responsibilities after ending their marriage. In 2024, Bill Gates donated close to $8 billion to Melinda following a previously agreed settlement that coincided with her exit from the Gates Foundation.
The contribution, totalling $7.88 billion, was made in line with the divorce agreement between the two, The New York Times reported, citing recently released tax documents. The donation ranks among the largest charitable gifts ever publicly disclosed.
The funds were directed to Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, an organisation Melinda established in 2022 to focus on advancing women, families, and gender equity. A representative from Pivotal confirmed that the donation had been mutually agreed upon by Bill and Melinda at the time she stepped away from the Gates Foundation to concentrate on her independent charitable initiatives.
The spokesperson further noted that the amount forms part of the Sh 2 trillion ($12.5 billion) Melinda was allocated to support her philanthropic work centred on women and families. While the exact timing of the remaining funds has not been disclosed, with speculation pointing to 2025 or 2026, the Pivotal team confirmed that “the agreement has been fulfilled.”
Bill and Melinda Gates publicly announced their divorce in May 2021, bringing an end to nearly three decades of marriage. During their union, they jointly established the Gates Foundation, now one of the world’s largest private charitable organizations. The former couple share three children: two daughters and a son.
In May 2024, nearly three years after their divorce announcement, Melinda officially resigned from the Gates Foundation.
"This is not a decision I came to lightly," she said in a statement in May 2024. "I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
She continued then: “I care deeply about the foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touched by its work."
Melinda explained that stepping away would allow her to fully dedicate herself to her personal philanthropic mission, supported by the Sh 2 trillion ($12.5 billion) grant.
"This is a critical moment for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world-and those fighting to protect and advance equality are in urgent need of support," she said.
In her April memoir, The Next Day, Melinda reflected on leaving the Gates Foundation as a defining chapter in her life.
“I am simply not willing to accept the idea that my granddaughters could grow up with less freedom than I had,” she wrote. “And I knew that by leaving the foundation, I would have more time and resources to devote to this fight as well as, for the first time in my philanthropic career, full control over how those resources were used.”