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The Gates Foundation has announced a plan that would allow this Melinda French Gates resign as co-chair and receive “personal resources” from her estranged husband for her own philanthropic endeavor if she or Bill Gates decides they can no longer work together.
The exhaust hatch, which would take effect two years later, was unveiled on Wednesday along with a number of other corporate governance changes aimed at ensuring long-term future of the world’s largest private philanthropic foundation at a time of uncertainty.
Her introduction is the first time French Gates has publicly addressed the idea of abandoning the $ 50 billion foundation since she and Gates announced in May that they were ending their 27-year marriage.
In an interview, Mark Suzman, the foundation’s chief executive, said French Gates and Doors he wanted to be “transparent” about issues arising from his divorce and said he did not believe their employment relationship would end.
“This is something that certainly, from my perspective, I don’t expect to happen and I’m not planning on,” he said. “Bill and Melinda, both individually and together, assured me of the firm intention to continue working together as long-term co-chairs, and that’s what we’re planning around.”
In what Suzman announced as a sign of their commitment, Gates and French Gates announced Wednesday that they would donate another $ 15 billion of their personal wealth to the foundation’s endowment. They have also agreed to incorporate new external patterns to help strengthen the organization after Warren Buffett, the main donor and sole external administrator, announced last month that it was going down.
No decision has yet been made on how many managers will be added or on their precise role in decision-making, Suzman said. He and Connie Collingsworth, the chief operating officer, plan to submit proposals to the former couple in January after studying other organizations.
“I would be surprised if this ended up being a significantly large expansion,” added Suzman, who predicted that new recruits could offer new experience or give a geographical balance to a Seattle-based foundation that works largely outside the United States.
Gates and French Gates have built the base over the past 21 years from Bill’s accumulated fortune as a co-founder of Microsoft. It has quickly become one of the most influential forces in global public health and development policy.
When they announced their separation, the couple assured staff and partners that they would continue the foundation’s mission together. Still, these insurances have been somewhat undermined by the formidable divorce lawyers each has hired, as well as reports that French Gates was angry about Gates’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who committed suicide in prison long ago. two years while awaiting allegations of trafficking in underage women.
Through a spokesman, Gates said so regrets the association, and who met Epstein to discuss philanthropy.
Some have speculated that French Gates and Gates would increasingly follow their own charitable paths, possibly to the detriment of the foundation. Melinda has her own $ 5 billion fund, Pivotal Ventures, focused on women’s causes, while Bill has a separate fund dedicated to clean energy technology.
Despite all the recent turmoil, Suzman predicted the foundation would continue to be the focus of the couple. Last week it announced plans to invest $ 2.1 billion to improve gender equality over a five-year period, one of its biggest commitments.
In a note to staff on Wednesday, French Gates said: “These governance changes bring more diverse perspectives and experience to the foundation’s leadership. I believe deeply in the foundation’s mission and remain fully committed as co-chair of its foundation. tasca “.
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