What will happen to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation if they fail to resolve their differences within the next two years

Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French called the foundation they created together “their fourth child.” As in any divorce, if the couple’s children are minors, they often argue over the child holding. In that case, if over the next two years Bill and Melinda fail to find a way to work together, the Microsoft co-founder will gain full custody of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It was one of the announcements made this Wednesday by the general manager of the foundation, Marc Suzman. “They agreed that if after two years either of them decides that they cannot continue working together, Melinda will step down as co-chair and administrator.”said in a message to employees of the organization, according to The New York Times. If this happens, Melinda “will receive Bill’s personal resources for his philanthropic work“, In addition to the endowment of the foundation, he added. Suzman’s announcement eclipsed the injection of an additional $ 15 billion in resources.

Divorce and the money at stake highlight the strange mixture of public importance of the foundation in areas such as health, poverty reduction and gender equality, with the private affairs of the philanthropic couple. The foundation is studying add more partners outside of your inner circle, which means a step towards better administration.

When they announced their divorce in May, Bill and Melinda stressed the importance of the work the foundation has done and ensured that would continue to “share the belief in this mission”. In Wednesday’s announcement, the two echoed his thoughts. “These new resources and the evolution of the foundation’s governance will support this ambitious mission and this vital work for the years to come“Bill said in a statement, according to the New York Times.

For her part, Melinda stressed the importance of develop the repertoire. “These changes of government bring a greater diversity of perspectives and experiences to the management of the foundation”, he assured, according to the New York Times. “I deeply believe in the mission of the foundation and remain fully engaged as co-chair in its work,” she added.

With the announcement of this Wednesday, we now know that, If the couple does not manage to settle their differences, it will be the co-founder of Microsoft who will keep control of the foundation, since he would buy it from his ex-wife.. We do not know how much would correspond to him if this situation arose.

Less than a year ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was run by Bill, his father, Melinda, and billionaire businessman Warren Buffett. It was a huge concentration of power for the largest private foundation in the world.

The restructuring announced on Wednesday could start the process to make the foundation listen more to the people your mission aims to help and loosen the grip of its founders for more than two decades, according to the New York Times.

The changes to the Gates Foundation reflect the existing tensions in the world of philanthropy, who set aside the wishes of the rich and powerful donors who contribute millions of dollars and on the other hand to the non-profit organizations that use these funds to feed, house and care for those most in need.

Two former senior members of the Gates Foundation filed a petition weeks after the divorce was announced to be broaden the board, including “a president who is not the CEO of the foundation, nor the founder, nor a member of the founder’s family”, according to the New York Times.

“Because founders receive a significant tax benefit for their donations, the assets the board oversees should be considered public property, and the board should be held accountable to a standard of fiduciary care.”said Alex Friedman, former CFO, and Julie Sunderland, former director of the foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund.

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