Wealth ‘Absurdity’

Melinda and Bill Gates Offer Separate Post-Divorce Giving Pledges

The former couple, who still jointly oversee their namesake foundation, posted new, separate letters to the Giving Pledge website.

Bill and Melinda Gates posted new, separate letters of commitment to the Giving Pledge on Tuesday, part of an effort to carve out independent identities following their divorce over the summer. The former couple, worth an estimated $137 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively, per Forbes, cofounded the pledge in 2010; it now has more than 200 signatories. In his letter, Bill Gates stressed that he would continue to prioritize the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, their namesake philanthropic vehicle. Melinda Gates said that she will devote her time to fighting poverty and inequality. “I recognize the absurdity of so much wealth being concentrated in the hands of one person,” she said. “It’s important to acknowledge that giving away money your family will never need is not an especially noble act.”