Melinda French Gates will not donate the bulk of her estate to the Bill & Melinda Foundation, the charity she founded with her then-husband, and instead she’ll donate her riches to other philanthropies and charities, Reuters reports.
The 57-year-old computer scientist and former spouse of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, French Gates reportedly made the change to her estate plan last year, months after her divorce was finalized and she came into control of $6 billion.
A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation would not comment on the announcement, instead pointing a reporter to a portion of a letter French Gates wrote at the establishment of the charity: “I recognize the absurdity of so much wealth being concentrated in the hands of one person, and I believe the only responsible thing to do with a fortune this size is give it away – as thoughtfully and impactfully as possible,” she wrote.