Melinda Gates and MacKenzie Scott Are Giving Away $40 Million to Support Gender Equality
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On May 3, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their decision to divorce after 27 years of marriage. While the divorce will greatly impact the couple's personal and familial lives, many are questioning the fate of the Gates fortune. Bill Gates is the world's fourth richest person, having amassed, according to Forbes, $124 billion. The pair has funneled much of their wealth into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable foundation, with an estimated $51 billion in assets, according to CNBC. However, the ensuing divorce may shift these numbers and forever alter the couple's net worths.
As for Melinda Gates's wealth, the philanthropist and former Microsoft general manager's assets are currently intertwined with her husband's. However, according to Forbes, if the pair split their fortune equally, Melinda would be worth $65.25 billion.
Bill and Melinda have already started dividing up their wealth. On the day of their divorce announcement, Bill’s investment vehicle, Cascade Investment, transferred nearly $2.4 billion in securities to Melinda, reports Forbes. Melinda's net worth is now at least $2.4 billion, while the stock transfer slightly lowered Bill’s, which fell to an estimated $128.1 billion, from $130.4 billion—he is still the fourth richest person in the world. As per Forbes, the stock transfer is almost certainly part of the couple's divorce settlement.
It is currently unclear, though, how the Gates' are going to divide the rest of their wealth. Bill and Melinda "asked the court to divide their assets based on the terms of the separation contract, but details of the contract weren’t disclosed," Forbes noted. "The filing does not mention a prenup, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have one, since they aren’t obligated to disclose everything on the filing."
Both Washington state, where Microsoft is based, and California, where the couple have a home, are community property states. This means that all the money made during a marriage is considered shared and often divided evenly in the case of divorce. However, in Washington, as Forbes stated, "the parties can agree to divide their assets in a way that is 'just and equitable,' which can result in settlements that aren’t necessarily 50/50." The Gates' will also need to sort out the fate of their $166 million real estate portfolio, $130 million art collection, and multi-billion dollar stock holdings, according to CNBC.
Regardless of the exact breakdown, the Gates divorce is shaping up to be one of the most impactful billionaire separations in history. Melinda Gates could receive more than MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, who received approximately $35 billion at the time of her divorce.
Gates and Scott, both of whom have gone through high profile divorces with tech billionaires, are now teaming up for a philanthropic initiative. The two women previously signed The Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away the majority of their wealth during their lifetimes. Now, per CNN, Gates and Scott are directing $40 million to winners of the Equality Can't Wait Challenge, a competition hosted by French Gates' investment firm, Pivotal Ventures, which rewards ideas that advance gender equality in the United States. Each winning organization will receive $10 million for their projects.
"We can break the patterns of history and advance gender equality, but we must commit to lifting up organizations, like the ones receiving awards today, that are ready to lift up women and girls," Gates said in a statement.
In terms of philanthropy, Bill and Melinda Gates agreed to remain co-chairs of the Gates Foundation, which works to provide equitable, global public health access and aid. However, the pair recently came up with a contingency plan, should, at some point, they no longer wish to work together. In that case, Melinda would, per the FT, "resign as co-chair and receive 'personal resources' from her estranged husband for her own philanthropic effort."
Read the couple's full divorce statement here:
— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) May 3, 2021
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