In June 2024, Melinda French Gates left the iconic foundation she started with her former husband, Bill, and started her solo philanthropic journey with a bang. First, she gave the foundation a parting gift of $502 million. (While it’s not a competition, that was nearly three times as much as her ex donated.)
Then she announced plans to distribute $1 billion over two years via Pivotal Ventures, an organization she founded in 2015, which blends investments, philanthropy and advocacy. "I believe in using every tool in my toolbox," French Gates told TIME shortly after she left the Gates Foundation. "Whether that's philanthropic money, whether that's private money I use for investing in social good or whether it's C4 money to do political giving." Her goal is to lift the fortunes and influence of women, girls, and families, both in the U.S. and internationally; early grantees include The National Partnership for Women & Families and the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
“This isn’t a side project,” former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said of French Gates last year. “She has had a laser focus on what she can do to improve areas of work that support women.”