The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says it plans to add more trustees to the board by early next year, and if Melinda Gates and Bill Gates think they can't work together, Melinda will resign from the board in two years.
Mark Suzman, the foundation's chief executive, and Connie Collingsworth, head of operations and legal affairs, will lead the study of recommendations on the number of trustees and selection procedures, according to an announcement on Wednesday. The new trustee will be announced in January 2022.
The couple, who are about to divorce, will also donate 15 billion US dollars to the foundation, the announcement said. The money will go into the endowment fund of the foundation. Before the announcement, the endowment fund was about $50 billion, and almost $50 billion has been donated over the past 20 years.
"these new resources and the evolution of the foundation's governance structure will support this ambitious mission and important work in the coming years," Bill Gates said.
Melinda Gates added that she remains fully committed to being the foundation's co-chair. These "governance changes will bring more diverse perspectives and experiences to the foundation's leadership," she said. "
Nevertheless, if either of the two feels unable to continue to work together as co-chair, Melinda will resign. In this case, Melinda "will have access to Gates' personal resources for her charitable work," which have nothing to do with the foundation's endowment fund.
It has been an eventful time for the couple since they announced the end of their 27-year marriage in May, with reports of infidelity and long-running discord.
The announcement represents a big change. After announcing the divorce, both of them and a spokesman for the foundation insisted that no change would take place in the foundation.