In 2024, she resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue philanthropy independently, having received $12.5 billion for charitable work as part of her separation agreement.

[5] She and her ex-husband have received numerous awards and honors for their charitable work, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honour.

[23] She attends the annual Bilderberg Group conference and has held a seat on the board of directors of Graham Holdings (formerly The Washington Post Company) since 2004.

[25][22] Since 2000, French Gates has been in the public eye, stating "As I thought about strong women of history, I realized that they stepped out in some way.

[26] In 2015, French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures as a separate, independent organization to identify and implement innovative solutions to problems affecting U.S. women and families.

[38] According to The Wall Street Journal, Melinda Gates had been meeting with divorce lawyers since, at least, October 2019, after Bill's business dealings with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, became public.

[43] In October 2021, Melinda and Bill both attended the wedding of their eldest daughter, Jennifer, to the Olympic equestrian Nayel Nassar.

[44] In March 2022, Melinda said that she and Bill were "friendly" but not "friends.” [45] In November 2022, she was reported to be dating former Fox News correspondent Jon Du Pre.

In April 2024, a spokesperson quashed rumors that French Gates and Du Pre had become engaged, confirming that the two were no longer dating.

[48] After the divorce, the now independently wealthy French Gates has become a prominent megadonor to the Democratic Party, with a focus on abortion rights.

[53][54] Melinda and Bill Gates received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on May 4, 2006, in recognition of their world impact through charitable giving.

Their benefaction of $210 million in 2000 set up the Gates Cambridge Trust, which funds postgraduate scholars from outside the UK to study at the university.

[65] French Gates was appointed an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2013, for services to philanthropy and international development.

[67] In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded French Gates and her husband with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for their philanthropic efforts.

[68] In 2017, President François Hollande awarded France's highest national honor to French Gates and her husband, for their charitable efforts, i.e. as Commander of the Legion of Honour.

"[76] French Gates also spoke about this topic at the 2017 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, an annual series of conferences.