Melinda French Gates don enter new phase of life, and she say e dey beautiful. Five years don pass since her painful, public divorce from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and two years since she leave the Gates Foundation to focus on Pivotal, her own philanthropic organisation wey she start for 2015 to promote women empowerment.
Her three children don leave house, she dey answer ‘Nonna’ to her two granddaughters, and as empty nester, she find herself get time for hand. She dey visit local bookshop more, dey yarn with staff about wetin to read. When she finish work by 5pm, she often text friend to meet for walk, dey explore new neighbourhoods of Seattle with decaf coffee.
She no dey run daily again but she insist on morning stroll to enjoy natural beauty of her adoptive home town, Lake Washington dey glitter for late-spring light. This morning, she see blue heron, she say, sound like she dey boast. These be modest hobbies for woman wey get estimated net worth of $30bn.
When I point this out, she explain how she read quote say sometimes we go out go discover new things, but sometimes you just need to keep walking the path near you. After many years of international travel with Gates Foundation, she dey choose the latter. Her free time dey relative, because Pivotal, where she work full-time, be one of the largest private foundations for US.
We meet for Pivotal stylish lakeside offices, with natural wood finishes and large windows wey dey overlook water. French Gates be 61 years old and extremely polished, with sleek brunette waves and golden tan. If she do cosmetic work, e dey subtle. Billionaire financier Warren Buffett, close friend of Gateses, once say Bill be smart as hell, but French Gates dey smarter.
She dey warm and personable, but as we talk about roll back of women rights for US, billionaires behaving bad, and her ex-husband involvement with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, e strike me say she get core of steel. French Gates don say many things contribute to her decision to divorce Bill for 2021 after 27 years of marriage, including say he dey unfaithful and he maintain contact with Epstein despite her objections.
For January this year, US justice department release Epstein emails wey include messages wey Epstein draft say Bill Gates don contract STI after extramarital sex with ‘Russian girls’ and dey plan to give French Gates antibiotics. Gates deny these claims, tell Australian channel 9News say Epstein write email to himself, e never send. French Gates say for NPR interview say she dey happy to dey away from ‘all the muck’ and the men involved, including her ex-husband, must answer for their actions.
Why she decide to speak out? She say she never dey silent. She don talk about Epstein before, she don speak her truth. He be abhorrent human being, horrid man, and her heart go out to the young girls. Does she feel frustrated say many women, including Epstein victims, show courage, but male associates dey stay silent? She reply say bad things happen for darkness, we need more transparency.
French Gates understand the secretive, ultra-rich world wey Epstein move. She wonder why he fit get away with crimes for so long. She say justice system no do its job. Full stop. This fit don stop. She say that’s why we dey have reckoning for society. But I ask, we truly dey have reckoning? She say better ask the survivors.
French Gates don say she meet Epstein once and find am so repugnant say she get nightmares afterwards. I ask wetin chill her. Her demeanour change, she look like she go cry. She turn away, look at the lake outside window, and I see her try to compose herself. She say her heart dey race, dey flutter hand over chest. When she say her heart dey race, she dey relive the gut reaction? She say I’m done, I can’t do any more questions.
But she answer: Yes. Any woman wey don ever dey around somebody wey be evil or get experience, and then if you dey around somebody else wey be evil. Her grammar don break down. French Gates don say for months before divorce, she start get panic attacks, and e clear say her emotional response to my questions dey real.
We move on to wider politics, and she become her usual self. She dey clear about how society fit fight modern misogyny. She say we must put women, far more women, for positions of power. When women step into their full power, we get different lens for society. We be bedrock of society.
This month, French Gates dey commit $215m for new funding towards women health care, split between initiatives supporting reproductive health and health for midlife, including through menopause. She say she always believe if you no start with good health, e hard to live up to wetin you want do. Research show say women experience higher rates of disability and illness than men, but for every dollar spent globally for medical research, just 5 cents go to women health.
She say we don under-prioritise women for so long. Medical community treat male body as default, so we know little about problems wey affect women, like autoimmune disease. Although half population go through menopause, there be dearth of research into how to support women through this transition. She say e like this time for woman life dey invisible.
Women spend average of nine years for poor health, and French Gates assume these years dey later life. But no, half be perimenopause, menopause phase, and women dey drop out of workforce because of am. She recall how surprising e be when she and her friends, for their early 40s, begin experience perimenopausal symptoms. These strike when women dey peak of careers and dey juggle caring for young children and ageing parents.
French Gates don provide funding for reproductive healthcare for decades, after field trips to Africa and south-east Asia where she learn critical difference family planning fit make. She see babies die because women no fit space births. For wake of overturn of Roe v Wade, much of Pivotal work dey focus on maternal mortality, perinatal mental health, and reproductive rights for US. She find e devastating to witness dismantling of US abortion rights.
She say her granddaughters dey grow up with fewer rights than she get. She no think women health should be political issue. Women should decide if and when to have child, and those decisions best made for privacy of our lives, not by government. As Catholic, French Gates once grapple with how to reconcile her faith with wetin she dey learn about reproductive freedom. She do her homework, invite scholars from University of Notre Dame to teach her about history of church position. Now she dey unequivocal say woman right to abortion should be legally enshrined. Only we own our bodies.
For French Gates telling, she always try remain true to her Catholic, middle-class upbringing for Dallas. Her father work as aerospace engineer and dey involve for Apollo programme; her mother be homemaker. Her parents instill strong sense of public responsibility for their four children. She study computer sciences and earn MBA for Duke University before join Microsoft for 1987, where she rise quickly, lead teams wey develop products like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, and Expedia.
She meet Bill for work, and they marry for 1994. Shortly before birth of their first child, French Gates leave Microsoft to focus on family and philanthropic work. Commitment to giving back be something she and Bill share. Her ex-husband parents be incredibly philanthropic, so e dey for both of their DNA. They dey inspired by friend Warren Buffett, wey be major donor to Gates Foundation. Over past 25 years, Gates Foundation don give away more than $100bn to anti-poverty initiatives, vaccine research, and fighting malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases.
French Gates say for Duke she meet students wey grow up with privilege, and she vow never want her three children to be like them. She work hard inside this very large life to ground them. Though they get access to things like Leonardo da Vinci manuscript, they still do chores, receive modest allowance, and join her for volunteering for Seattle community projects.
The philanthropy of French Gates sometimes feel like throwback to less cynical time. Social responsibility no dey in vogue among wealthiest. By dismantling USAID, world richest man Elon Musk don devote effort to take away money from world poorest than give back. For 2010, Buffett and Gateses found Giving Pledge, wey encourage billionaires to commit to give more than half of wealth to charitable causes. Now, New York Times report say at least one signatory don unsign, and e become fashionable to bash Giving Pledge.
I ask French Gates wetin explain this new mood, rise of billionaire misanthropist, but she no dey drawn. She say she fit speak only for people wey still dey participate for Giving Pledge. Many humanitarian goals wey Bill and Melinda French Gates work towards for decades dey undermined. When USAID abolish for 2025, e decimate international development community and cause, according to Boston University estimates, at least 600,000 deaths from infectious diseases that year alone.
During pandemic, conspiracists seize on Gateses vaccine programmes and spread false rumours say they dey microchip children. US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr dey help spread vaccine misinformation and dey dismantle vaccine research. French Gates say e terrible any time something wey benefit people health get rolled back or attacked. She don see for many countries for Africa where parents go great lengths to get kids vaccinated because they know difference e make. Nobody dey force them, they dey figure out how to get bus fare, dey walk for miles, because they know vaccines save lives. To see for United States for 2025 we get largest number of measles cases for 25 years, e seem so senseless.
When she leave Gates Foundation, French Gates write for open letter say she recognise absurdity of so much wealth dey concentrated for hands of one person, and say giving away money your family never need no be especially noble act. Does she think American society need more socially responsible billionaires, or economy wey produce fewer billionaires? She look out window again to gather thoughts. She say we need more equity for society, so we need more people wey no dey struggle to buy groceries, pay rent. For US, e almost impossible to buy first house now, the system just no dey work. We must do something to create more equity.
Throughout interview, I notice her politician skill at appearing to answer question while giving little new away. But why she go give? She be rare interviewee with nothing to sell, no personal project she need promote, she no dey interested for settling scores, she no dey beholden to anybody. On occasions she feel forced to mention Bill, she no speak his name but refer to am distantly as ‘my ex-husband’. She evidently get no desire to spill more private details about their marriage.
Her only reason for speaking to press, as far as I fit tell, be to draw attention to causes she care about. If giving away excess billions no be noble, I think devoting working life to try change world for better be noble. She plan to work full-time for at least another decade, into her 70s. After that she fit start slow down. E depend how many grandchildren she get.
French Gates say she no think a lot about legacy, but she wonder about wetin kind of world go be bequeathed to her two young granddaughters. She say we all only on this Earth for blink of eye, and she never for wildest dreams think she go end up with these kinds of resources. Through her philanthropic work, she don be astronomically successful. But she no dwell on those things. E be individual stories of people she don touch wey move her.
She talk about mother she recently meet through maternity care project Pivotal dey support for Alabama, wey after trauma of losing one baby, don recently dey helped through difficult process of giving birth again. To hear story like that bring her great joy. Her divorce and Epstein fall-out must don take huge personal toll, but her philanthropic work bring her purpose and solace. I ask if she dey happy. She say very happy, with real feeling, and I believe am.
