Bill Gates sends $7.9 billion to Melinda Gates’ nonprofit in one of the biggest charity transfers ever

Bill Gates has transferred $7.9 billion to a nonprofit controlled by Melinda Gates, according to recent tax filings, marking one of the largest single charitable transfers ever reported.

The move dramatically expands the scale of Melinda Gates’ independent philanthropic work and immediately places her foundation among the world’s most highly capitalised private charities.The funds were transferred in late 2024 to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, the tax-exempt foundation arm of Melinda Gates’ broader organisation, Pivotal Ventures. Public filings show that once the transfer was completed, the foundation ranked among the largest private philanthropic entities globally by assets.

$7.9 billion transfer part of post-divorce agreement

The donation was made under a $12.5 billion agreement reached in 2024, after Bill and Melinda Gates decided to end their joint philanthropic work at the Gates Foundation, which they built together over several decades. The couple divorced in 2021 but initially continued collaborating through the foundation.A spokesperson for Pivotal confirmed that the $7.9 billion transfer was part of that agreement and that the commitment has now been fulfilled in full.

The Gates Foundation did not respond to requests for comment regarding the filing.

What Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation does

Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation was established in 2022 and operates alongside Pivotal Ventures, which Melinda Gates has led for more than a decade. While Pivotal Ventures blends grant-making with venture-style investments, the foundation structure allows for large-scale, long-term charitable funding.According to its most recent tax filing, the foundation distributed $875 million in 2024 alone. Its funding supports initiatives primarily focused in the United States, while also engaging with partners and organisations that operate internationally. Key areas of work include:

The filing shows the foundation operates with a relatively small leadership structure.

Melinda Gates is listed as a director, alongside senior advisers responsible for governance, finance and oversight.

A major shift in philanthropic power

Beyond the headline figure, the transfer represents a significant rebalancing of philanthropic influence. For years, Bill and Melinda Gates jointly shaped global giving through the Gates Foundation. This move places nearly $8 billion under Melinda Gates’ sole philanthropic direction, giving her independent authority to define priorities and deploy capital at scale.Before the transfer became public, Bill Gates’ net worth stood at about $118 billion, while Melinda Gates was valued at $17.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Single donations of this magnitude are exceptionally rare, even among the world’s wealthiest individuals. Unlike pledges spread across decades, the Gates transfer involved nearly $8 billion moved at once, immediately reshaping the balance of assets in global philanthropy.In scale, structure and timing, Bill Gates’ $7.9 billion transfer to Melinda Gates’ nonprofit stands as one of the most consequential charity movements of the modern era.