Melinda French Gates says she ignores attacks from tech bros who criticize women in philanthropy: 'I'm in the arena doing the work'

• Melinda French Gates said she ignores the criticism she gets from tech bros on her philanthropy.
• "If that's how they want to act? Fine, but it doesn't bother me," French Gates said.
• Elon Musk has criticized French Gates and MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, for their work in charity.

Melinda French Gates said she isn't bothered by the nasty things tech bros have to say about her philanthropic work.

French Gates was asked about the criticism billionaires like her and MacKenzie Scott have received for their philanthropy during an interview with Scott Galloway on his podcast, which aired Thursday.

"I ignore it," French Gates said. "I know who I am and I know what I am doing and I know what my values are and why I am giving back."

"I'm not sitting on the sidelines. To me, it's so easy to sit on the sidelines and, as Roosevelt used to say, criticize from the sidelines. I'm in the arena doing the work," French Gates continued.

French Gates has received criticism for her charity work. In June, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said it "might be the downfall of Western civilization" after French Gates endorsed President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. Musk was responding to an X post by the Babylon Bee staffer Ashley St. Clair about French Gates' endorsement.

"Many super villain arcs being pursued under the guise of philanthropy," St. Clair wrote in an X post.

"Yeah," Musk replied.

Earlier, in March 2024, Musk criticized Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, Scott, for her charitable giving.

"'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should filed be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died,'" Musk wrote in a now-deleted post on X on March 6, 2024.

French Gates told Galloway that attacks and criticism will not stop her from continuing with her philanthropy.

"I think when you're not doing the work and you're not in the arena, it's easier to criticize others and to project onto others or make them look bad because you don't want to go do that work," she said.

"That's up to them. If that's how they want to act? Fine, but it doesn't bother me. My work goes ahead," she continued.

French Gates announced her divorce from Microsoft cofounder, Bill Gates, in 2021. The couple had been married for 27 years.

In May, French Gates said she had left the Gates Foundation, a philanthropic foundation she started with her now ex-husband in 2000. Her giving efforts are now mainly led by Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company she launched in 2015.

French Gates wrote about her decision to leave the Gates Foundation in an op-ed for The New York Times published in May. In that op-ed, she said she would give $1 billion over the next two years to causes relating to reproductive rights, women, and families.

"Many years ago, I received this piece of advice: 'Set your own agenda, or someone else will set it for you.' I've carried those words with me ever since," French Gates wrote.

Representatives for French Gates did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.