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 recorded. The donation, completed in late 2024, dramatically expands the scale of Melinda Gates’ independent philanthropy and immediately positions her organization among the most highly capitalized private charitable foundations in the world.
The funds were directed to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, the tax-exempt foundation arm of Pivotal Ventures, which Melinda Gates has led for more than a decade. Public filings show that following the transfer, the foundation ranked among the largest private philanthropic entities globally by assets, underscoring a major shift in the landscape of large-scale charitable giving.
The transfer was part of a $12.5 billion agreement finalized in 2024, after Bill and Melinda Gates decided to end their joint philanthropic work through the Gates Foundation. Although the couple divorced in 2021, they initially continued collaborating before ultimately separating their philanthropic paths. A spokesperson for Pivotal confirmed that the $7.9 billion payment fulfilled Bill Gates’ commitment under the agreement in full.
Established in 2022, the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation enables long-term, large-scale charitable funding alongside the broader activities of Pivotal Ventures, which combines traditional grant-making with venture-style investments. Tax filings show that the foundation distributed $875 million in 2024, supporting initiatives largely focused in the United States while also working with international partners.
Beyond its financial scale, the transfer represents a significant rebalancing of philanthropic influence. Nearly $8 billion is now under Melinda Gates’ sole direction, granting her independent authority to define priorities and deploy resources at a global level. In both size and immediacy, the donation stands out as a rare and consequential moment in modern philanthropy, reshaping how power and capital are distributed among the world’s largest charitable institutions.
