In May, Melinda French Gates said that she was leaving the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which she helped found in 2000. Despite her divorce from Bill Gates a few years ago, the couple continued working together, and it was understood that Melinda was a crucial part of what made the foundation so effective. It’s hard to overstate what an earthquake her departure was in the world of big-donor charitable giving.
Listen to the Conversation With Melinda French GatesThe billionaire philanthropist is turning 60, striking out on her own and getting political.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music | NYT Audio App
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — soon to be called just the Gates Foundation — is the largest philanthropic organization in the United States by far, and it has given away nearly $80 billion since its inception. The Gateses have wielded enormous influence through their charitable donations, to causes as varied as their much-praised global childhood-vaccination initiative and their more controversial push to change standards for public education through the Common Core here in the United States.
The act of walking away from all that would have been surprising enough. But French Gates also did something she never did while at the Gates Foundation: entered the political fray, saying she would focus her resources on supporting women’s rights in the United States, including abortion rights. And in June she endorsed President Biden.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTWhen we spoke this month, she told me why she feels so much urgency to get involved in these issues now. (We talked before Biden dropped out of the presidential race; she has since endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.) We also talked about life after divorce, raising rich children, her new YouTube series, called “Moments That Make Us,” and her evolving views on how to use her own money.
You are in this big moment of transition. You’ve been through a divorce. You’re about to turn 60. You’ve left the Gates Foundation after over two decades. Has it felt like a big identity shift? Not reallyluckywin, because I am still the same person that I was when I was at the foundation. I’m still doing the work on behalf of women and girls. And you know, it was a decision that I gave a lot of careful thought and reflection when I was making it. So while you’re doing that, I think I had to get a bit used to the idea the last few months.