The philanthropist has already helped distribute more than $65.6bn. Now she wants to pool resources with the world’s wealthiest to make systems change at massive scale. Exclusive interview

Her VC firm launched The Gender Equality in Tech Cities program.

Melinda Gates may be half of a billionaire power couple, but she still had her own fight for equality

Melinda French Gates. (Jason Bell Photo) A reported change in Melinda French Gates' pledge to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation opens the door for

Melinda Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates

"All lives have an equal value." - Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Melinda French Gates says that after the US Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision that let individual states decide abortion rights, the philanthropist felt compelled to offer Americans financial support for their reproductive freedoms — support that she says she had been giving exclusively overseas.

The billionaire wrote out a pros and cons list of marrying Melinda before he officially proposed.