Bill Gates Donates $7.88 Billion to Ex-Wife's Foundation

Bill Gates donated nearly $8 billion to his ex-wife Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2024, fulfilling a key portion of their 2021 divorce settlement and transforming the young nonprofit into one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

The contribution, totaling $7.88 billion, was disclosed in a recent tax filing for the foundation. It boosted Pivotal Philanthropies' assets from $604 million at the end of 2023 to approximately $7.4 billion by the end of 2024. A spokesperson for the foundation confirmed that the donation forms part of a previously announced $12.5 billion commitment from Gates to support French Gates' philanthropic work. This agreement has now been fully met, according to the spokesperson.

French Gates and Gates announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage and three children. The couple had long collaborated on global philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which they co-founded and where French Gates served as co-chair until her resignation in May 2024. At that time, she outlined plans to direct the $12.5 billion toward initiatives benefiting women and families, separating her efforts...