Melinda Gates and Bill Gates finalized the terms of their divorce in 2021, about three months after Melinda filed. Melinda was really smart about how she went about the whole thing – within a week after she filed for divorce, it was abundantly clear that she paid for the deluxe divorce package, including painting Bill Gates as a serial philanderer, serial sexual harasser and a friend-of-Jeffrey Epstein. To be fair, it did not take much to “paint” Bill Gates as all of those things. Still, I watched in awe as Melinda’s team ensured that she came out of the divorce smelling like a rose.

The divorce settlement has never been confirmed, but it’s widely believed that Melinda got a personal financial settlement of less than $10 billion. She also stayed on the Gates Foundation for three years post-divorce, and she only left the foundation in May of this year. Interestingly enough, when she left the Gates Foundation, she seemingly pulled $12.5 billion (from the foundation??) to create a new, stand-alone foundation in her name. She says that her focus is now on protecting reproductive rights, women’s rights and the rights of families. I assume her new foundation is the reason why Gayle King interviewed her on CBS Mornings this week. Melinda spoke about the importance of this year’s presidential election:

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates is encouraging women to make their voices heard at the polls, underscoring the importance of turnout in determining the 2024 presidential election’s outcome.

“Women turned out in the mid-term elections and said, ‘This is enough.’ And we’ve gotta do it again,” French Gates told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in an exclusive interview airing on Tuesday, June 18.

When asked if she plans to campaign or endorse a particular candidate, French Gates confirmed, “More than likely, yes.”

French Gates said that she has voted for both Republican and Democratic candidates in the past, “but in this election, I cannot vote for a man who rolls back women’s reproductive rights and says the heinous things that he says about women. So I absolutely am not voting for Trump, and I will vote for Biden,” said French Gates.

[From CBS News]

I’m not surprised that she’s voted for Republicans and Democrats. What does surprise me is that she’s had a come-to-Jesus moment about the desperate need for wealthy white women to prioritize reproductive rights above all other issues right now. Melinda is doing exactly what I would do if I had a foundation with $12.5 billion in funding – scream from the rooftops and make it extremely clear that reproductive rights, contraception, victims’ rights and women’s rights are all on the chopping block. Gates is saying there is a very simple and obvious choice to be made in November, and every woman needs to vote for President Biden. I agree. I hope her foundation is already up and running and maybe she’ll do a pro-choice superPAC or something.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.