Melinda French Gates Calls $200 Billion Gates Foundation Endowment For Global Health ‘Fantastic’, Pledges Personal Funds for Gender Equality: ‘..Ready To Set More Of An Agenda Here In The United States’ – Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Melinda French Gates has endorsed the Gates Foundation’s decision to allocate its entire $200 billion endowment to global health by 2045.
What Happened: French Gates, in her interview with Fortune, applauded the move, calling it “fantastic”. She emphasized that the foundation’s resources were always meant to be returned to society.
French Gates highlighted that only 2% of philanthropy is directed towards organizations working on gender issues. She reiterated her commitment to bridging this gap by utilizing her resources. Last year, she pledged $1 billion to support organizations and individuals promoting gender equality and empowering women. This announcement comes at a time when U.S. investments in gender-focused initiatives in Africa are facing hurdles, partly due to President Trump’s rhetoric against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
“I’m ready to set more of an agenda here in the United States,” asserted French Gates.
Gates expressed disappointment with the cuts in USAID and stated that philanthropy by billionaires can never fill in the gap. “You can never fill the gap if the public sector pulls back. You just can’t.”
She also stressed the importance of giving back, especially for the wealthiest. According to her, U.S. billionaires, who have benefited from the country’s infrastructure and health sector, have a moral obligation to give back to society.
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Why It Matters: French Gates’ commitment to global health and gender equality is not new. Earlier this month, she expressed concerns over the cuts made by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during President Donald Trump’s tenure. She emphasized the importance of government funding in expanding philanthropic efforts and warned about the potential devastating impacts of cuts to programs like USAID.
Her commitment to gender equality was also evident when she gave practical advice to her daughter, Phoebe Gates, who faced questions from potential investors about future motherhood.
Moreover, her ex-spouse, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. MSFT, has also pledged to donate 99% of his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation. This move further solidifies the Gates Foundation’s commitment to global health and philanthropy.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors
