Bill Gates intends to lay off as many as 500 staff over the next five years at The Gates Foundation just days after it was revealed he handed ex-wife Melinda $8billion after they divorced over his rumored friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday a record-breaking $9billion spent in 2026 as it ramps up efforts in the global health sphere and addressing poverty after major cuts to government spending by the Trump administration.
But at the same time, it will begin to reduce staff headcounts by up to 500 people over the next five years after the board introduced a cap on operating costs, impacting staffing, salaries, facilities and travel expenses.
These expenses must not exceed $1.25billion – about 14 percent of the foundation’s budget.
To meet that goal, the foundation must cut up to 500 of its 2,375 staff positions by 2030, including some open roles that may remain unfilled.
The effort to reduce expenses will be done incrementally and reviewed annually rather than coming in ‘a big wave,’ foundation CEO Mark Suzman told the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
‘We will do this thoughtfully, carefully, and systematically,’ he said.
‘We’ll be recalibrating it every year. That 500-person target is a maximum target. I very much hope that we won’t have to do it as large as that number.’
Bill Gates intends to lay off as many as 500 staff over the next five years at The Gates Foundation just days after it was revealed he handed ex-wife Melinda $8billion after they divorced over his rumoured friendship with Jeffrey Epstein
Gates’ friendship with the pedophile was thrust back into the spotlightin December after he was seen in a photograph with Epstein in a tranche of evidence from the pedophile’s estate
According to Suzman, the board had concerns about rapidly rising expenditures and wanted to ensure the foundation was spending money prudently and dedicating as many resources as possible to the people who need them.
The foundation intends to ramp up spending on programs dedicated to women’s health, vaccine development, polio eradication, AI, and US education.
It comes after The New York Times last week revealed Gates made a $7.88billion donation to his ex-wife Melinda’s Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2024.
Melinda resigned from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that they ran together in May 2024 after separating from the Microsoft tycoon over his rumored closeness to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates’ friendship with the pedophile was thrust back into the spotlight in December after he was seen in a photograph with Epstein in a tranche of evidence from the pedophile’s estate.
In undated images from the tranche, Gates was pictured with two women whose faces were blurred.
An additional picture reveals that Epstein kept a framed photo of Gates on the wall at his mansion on his private island.
Gates was also pictured standing alongside Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
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Melinda resigned from The Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation that they ran togetherin May 2024 after separating from the Microsoft tycoon over his rumoured closeness to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein
Bill and Melinda Gates pictured together in Sun Valley, Utah, in 2015. The couple split six years later with Bill recently donating another $8billion to his wife’s foundation
Melinda had previously suggested her ex donate $12.5billion to her new foundation which works to advance social progress for women.
A representative for women’s advocacy group Pivotal confirmed to the Times that the $12.5billion agreement had been fulfilled, and the nearly $8billion donation was part of that agreement.
The donation was listed on his 2025 tax filing, but it is unclear how the rest of the $12.5billion agreement was split and where the donations were made.
Melinda married Gates in 1994 and split with him in 2021 after the couple had three children together.
While very few details of their split have been made public, she has previously admitted that her ex-husband’s friendship with disgraced pedophile financier Epstein was a driving factor.
In May, Gates announced that he will give away 99 per cent of his immense fortune in the coming years, leaving one per cent for himself and his children.
He vowed to shutter the Gates Foundation by December 31, 2045, effectively ending a lifelong project, to achieve his goal of giving away his multi-billion fortune.
Gates and Melinda share three adult children, Phoebe, Jennifer, and Rory (pictured left to right)
The tech mogul plans to distribute ‘virtually all’ of his wealth, approximately $200 billion, within the next 20 years.
Bill will hold onto just one percent of his fortune – which still equals out to an estimated $1.62 billion.
He has three adult children he shares with Melinda – Phoebe, Rory, and Jennifer – who will most likely inherit the remaining millions in cash Gates has upon his death.
The Gates Foundation is the world’s largest foundation to decide to close.
