Joint Chairman of the Gates Foundation. Visit to Benin with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, ambassadress for the Global Fund to fight AIDS (January 26 / 27, 2010)

In 2005, Time magazine named Melinda Gates Person of the Year. This honor, awarded jointly to her and husband Bill Gates, no doubt recognizes the philanthropic actions of the richest couple in the planet rather than the magic of the Gates couple – although the two things seem to go together. Five years earlier, Bill and Melinda Gates had just set up a foundation in the field of health and education that which would go on to play a vital role in the global checkerboard of actions aimed at alleviating suffering: annual donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation apparently exceed the amount spent by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Melinda Gates is a lynchpin of this vast organization of humanitarian investment. When the American Warren Buffett declared he wanted to gradually hand over 80% of his fortune (37 billion dollars) to the Gates Foundation, he did so on condition that Bill or Melinda Gates remain at the head of the institution. It seems as if the trust placed in one of the spouses is easily transferred to the other. “Bill” and “Melinda” met in 1987 in Manhattan at a press event organized by Microsoft. Born in Dallas, Melinda Ann French, a young graduate  with a degree in IT science and economics, had just joined the software company. After being appointed General Manager of Information Products, the engineer’s daughter married Bill Gates on January 1st, 1994. Two children were born. Then, while they were thinking of having a third child, the couple decided, in 2000, to create a foundation reinvesting a large part of their wealth in humanitarian actions to benefit the countries of the South. Melinda Gates’ role is recognized. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked her the 12th most powerful woman in the world. Back then, the foundation employed 241 people. At the same time, Bill Gates announced that he wanted to devote 95% of his fortune to the fight against disease and illiteracy.