Bill Gates transfers nearly $8 billion to Melinda French Gates’ charity in one of the largest ever divorce payouts

New Delhi: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has quietly transferred nearly 8 billion dollars to the charity foundation run by his former wife, Melinda French Gates. This makes it one of the largest divorce-related financial settlements ever made public.

The transfer significantly boosts the philanthropic capacity of Melinda’s independent organisation, once again bringing global attention to the financial arrangements and evolving philanthropic strategies of one of the world’s most influential former couples.

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According to financial disclosures, the payout, estimated at around 7.88 billion dollars, was made towards the end of 2024 to Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation. This is an initiative led by Melinda French Gates which focuses on women’s empowerment, social justice, health support and youth development.

The current transfer by Gates dramatically increases the foundation’s financial strength. Reports suggest the donation is part of a broader settlement agreement worth around 12.5 billion dollars between the former couple, with Pivotal already disbursing close to a billion dollars toward global welfare and societal development programmes in the same year.

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The payout comes nearly three years after Bill and Melinda announced their divorce in 2021, ending a 27 year marriage. The divorce also ended a long-standing partnership between the two at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the most significant global philanthropic organisations. In 2024, Melinda stepped down from her leadership role at the Gates Foundation to independently pursue philanthropic initiatives which focused particularly on women issues, families and social equity.

Now the current massive transfer to Melinda’s account marks not only a new chapter in her organization's work but also realigns global philanthropy in a major way. With both the former partners now steering separate massive charitable entities a diversification in global funding priorities is expected to be seen which has the potential to reshape how private wealth influences social, health and humanitarian development worldwide.