Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates have officially divorced in 2021. Even though they have separated, the two are still generous in pouring out donations to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In July 2021, the two announced a $15 billion donation to their foundation. This donation is intended to help their foundation in its efforts to fight poverty, disease and inequality.
Thanks to this donation, Bill and Melinda topped the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of biggest charity donors in 2021, as quoted from the Associates Press, Monday (3/1/2022).
This donation increased the number of grants they contributed to USD 65 billion. This is Bill and Melinda's biggest donation to their foundation since 2000, when they transferred $20 million worth of Microsoft stock.
When they announced the billion-dollar donation, Bill and Melinda said they would continue to work together at the foundation. If within two years one of them feels uncomfortable working together, Melinda will resign from her position as co-chair and trustee of the foundation.
In his latest Giving Pledge pledge, Bill Gates said the focus of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be his top priority and he plans to increase his donations to other sectors such as tackling climate change and fighting Alzheimer's.
Meanwhile Melinda French Gates will continue to support her fight against poverty and promote equality for women, girls and other marginalized groups.
Bill Gates is not the only tech magnate to make the list of the 10 biggest donors of 2021. In eighth place is Joe Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba Group, who donated USD 220 million to found the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a non-profit foundation for health research.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the world's second-richest person, came in ninth with a $200 million donation to the National Air and Space Museum which is part of the Smithsonian Institute.
