It was big news earlier this year when Warren Buffett revealed he's no longer planning to leave his vast fortune to the Gates Foundation after his death. Instead, his billions will go to a trust managed by his three children. For a man who once described Bill and Melinda Gates as "the perfect solution" for dispersing his wealth, this marked a seismic shift in philanthropy.
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In a 2008 Fortune profile, Buffett was clear in his admiration for Melinda, saying, "He's [Bill] smart as hell. But in terms of seeing the whole picture, she's smarter." He also referred to her as a "longtime friend." Buffett continued praising Melinda, saying, "I very much admire what she is doing for women around here and around the world."
Only weeks after the Gateses announced their divorce, Buffett resigned as a trustee of the foundation. As reported by The New York Times in a 2021 article, Buffett released a statement saying: "For years I have been a trustee – an inactive trustee at that – of only one recipient of my funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I am now resigning from that post, just as I have done at all corporate boards other than Berkshire's."
Warren Buffett may think Bill Gates is "smart as hell," but even he admitted in his Fortune profile, "Would I have given the Gates Foundation my fortune if Melinda weren't in the picture? That's a great question. And the answer is, I'm not sure."
The Buffett connection looms large in the October 2024 Vanity Fair interview, where Melinda discusses her life after divorce, the challenges of being a woman in philanthropy and her legacy. In classic Melinda style, she doesn't shy away from tough truths. She noted her decades of joint philanthropic work with Bill: "If I went into a president or prime minister's office and I was with my ex-husband, they would turn to him first. Unless I interrupted the conversation, they could have kept going for the whole meeting."
This wasn't just frustrating – it was telling. "Why would they assume I knew less than him about philanthropy when we had been doing it together for almost 25 years?" she asked. "That, really, was sexism."
Her willingness to call out these dynamics – and challenge them – is part of what makes her so effective. Melinda's journey from Microsoft marketing manager to one of the most powerful women in philanthropy hasn't been without its share of roadblocks. As she told Vanity Fair, during the early years of the foundation, she didn't understand the major role that gender played. She added, "But things just kept coming up for women – contraceptives or their health or what they wanted – that it started to make me realize we were making a mistake."
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It's this insight that shaped the Gates Foundation's focus on global health and education, with a specific lens on empowering women and girls. From ensuring access to contraceptives to fighting preventable diseases, Melinda's fingerprints are all over the foundation's most impactful initiatives.
But what happens when Buffett's billions are no longer flowing to the foundation? That's a question no one seems to have a clear answer for yet. Melinda, for her part, seems more than ready to embrace the challenge as she continues to carve out her own space in the philanthropic world.
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