Melinda French Gates steps back from the Gates Foundation

Melinda French Gates announced Monday that she will step down from the co-chairman role at the organization she started with her ex-husband 24 years ago.

French Gates will receive $12.5 billion as part of her agreement with Bill Gates to invest into her own philanthropic work, which she has done mostly through Pivotal Ventures. Her last day with the Gates Foundation will be June 7.

“This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates said in a post on social media. “I am taking this step with full confidence that the foundation is in strong shape.”

It was time, though, she said to move forward in the next chapter of her philanthropy.

French Gates went on to highlight what a critical moment it is for women and girls around the world, and the urgent need to improve equity and outcomes across the globe.

“Melinda has new ideas about the role she wants to play in improving the lives of women and families in the U.S. and around the world,” Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said in an open letter Monday. “And, after a difficult few years watching women’s rights rolled back in the U.S. and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory.”

Bill Gates will become the sole chairman of the foundation, and it will change its name to the Gates Foundation (dropping the Bill & Melinda) as a way to honor Bill Gates’ father’s contributions, as well as Melinda’s.