Melinda French Gates Resigns as Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation French Gates announced her resignation on social media on Monday.

By Sherin Shibu

Key Takeaways

  • Melinda French Gates is resigning from the Gates Foundation, which she cofounded.
  • Her last day of work at the foundation is June 7.

Melinda French Gates is resigning as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she co-founded over 20 years ago.

In a statement posted to X at noon ET on Monday, Gates announced her resignation and said that her last day of work will be June 7.

"This is not a decision I came to lightly," French Gates wrote.

At the end of the statement, Gates added that she "will have an additional $12.5 billion" to commit to her philanthropic work under the terms of an agreement with her ex-husband Bill Gates.

"I'll be sharing more about what that [work] will look like in the near future," French Gates said in her statement.

Melinda French Gates. Photo by Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images

In response, Bill Gates posted on X that he was "sorry to see Melinda leave."

After the former couple divorced in 2021, the Gates Foundation created a two-year backup plan in case the duo faced difficulty working together. The deal meant that Melinda Gates could choose to resign after two years.

The Gates Foundation was established in 2000 by the former couple.

Sherin Shibu

Entrepreneur Staff

News Reporter

Sherin Shibu is a business news reporter at Entrepreneur.com. She previously worked for PCMag, Business Insider, The Messenger, and ZDNET as a reporter and copyeditor. Her areas of coverage encompass tech, business, strategy, finance, and even space. She is a Columbia University graduate.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

OLIPOP Is Now a $1.85 Billion Brand. 'You Can Accomplish Things You Can't Imagine' Says Its Co-Founder.

OLIPOP co-founder Ben Goodwin explains how his idea for a "functional" soda that supports the gut's microbiome found its way onto store shelves and into consumers' hearts.

Business News

Google's CEO Praised AI Rival DeepSeek This Week for Its 'Very Good Work.' Here's Why.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $2,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.

Marketing

Be Seen Online: Outrank Your Competitors Without Breaking a Sweat

Automate SEO, generate engaging content, and increase visibility—all with SEMAI.

Marketing

Should I Ask Google? SEO Is Changing Fast This Year — Here's What to Watch

SEO in 2025 will focus on adapting to AI-driven changes, voice and visual search, mobile-first design and building trust.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.