The $7.88 billion donation was made in 2024 to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, a relatively new nonprofit launched by French Gates, according to a newly released tax filing reviewed by The New York Times’ DealBook.

Bill Gates paid nearly $8 billion to his ex-wife, Melinda. Nathan Posner/Shutterstock

The filing marks the first time concrete financial terms of the Gateses’ 2021 divorce have been made public following their decision to formally separate their philanthropic work in 2024.

Melinda Gates announced she and her husband were splitting up in 2021. Getty Images for The Clooney Foundation For Justice

Melinda and Bill Gates with their children in an undated photo. Instagram

French Gates had said when she stepped down as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that she would have an additional $12.5 billion to commit to causes focused on women and families, as per the terms of the divorce settlement.

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ICE is depraved, and every day they seem to find new ways to lash out. Their incompetence—from out-of-shape squadristi getting embarrassed in Chicago to the poorly written snivelings of racist pencil eraser Stephen Miller—hasn’t hampered their ability to hurt our neighbors and communities. There is no more malignant expression of Don Trump and his hogmen’s greasy contempt than police department washouts cosplaying Zero Dark Thirty in our streets. They would be pathetic if they weren’t so dangerous.

ICE’s latest move is to go after books, and keep them from those they’re detaining. An ICE camp in Buffalo, which is the largest in New York, has banned the shipment of all books into their facility, according to a new report in New York Focus. The Buffalo Federal Detention Facility abruptly stopped accepting book deliveries for detainees in July, a reversal in policy. They have turned back packages containing “an illustrated Spanish-English dictionary, the Spanish translation of ‘A Clash of Kings’ by George R.R. Martin, and ‘The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work’ by John Gottman and Nan Silver,” among others.

New York Focus spoke to members of the Justice for Migrant Families, who said they have regularly sent books to detainees, but that deliveries began to be rejected in the summer. ICE claims this new policy is due to security concerns, even though books are required to come directly from booksellers and can only be accepted inside detention after a long and convoluted process.

The ACLU of New York delivered a forceful letter to the facility yesterday outlining the potential illegalities and inconsistencies of the ban, and demanding that the ICE facility “take immediate steps to end this practice and comply with both its own procedures and the First Amendment.”

An ICE spokesman told New York Focus that the facility has a legal library, e-readers, and religious texts available, as well as other recreation, but this of course misses the point. Depriving people arbitrarily is a vulgar display of power.

You can read more about this book ban at New York Focus.

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The five recalls with the largest potentially affected vehicle populations this year came from four different automakers: Tesla, Ford, Honda and FCA US, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Each involved upward of 1 million vehicles, with one of the recalls covering over 2 million.

According to NHTSA data, they were: 

Tesla recall of over 2.19 million vehicles

In late January, Tesla recalled 2.19 million vehicles because the font for the brake, park and antilock brake system warning lights shown within their instrument panels was smaller than the size required by federal safety standards.

The electric vehicle maker, run by billionaire Elon Musk, rolled out an over-the-air software update to the recalled 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X and 2019-2024 Model Y vehicles to make the font bigger and resolve the issue, according to NHTSA.

The update was free.

Automakers recalled millions of vehicles this year to address a variety of issues and Tesla, Ford, Honda and FCA US were the most affected companies according to data conducted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). REUTERS

At the time, Tesla said it was “not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths that may be related” to the issue. 

Ford recall of nearly 1.89 million vehicles

Ford’s recall of nearly 1.89 million of its 2011-2019 Explorer SUVs in January was prompted by a possible issue with the A-pillar trims that bordered “the right and left side of the windshield,” according to the recall report.

The trims on the recalled SUVs “may detach from vehicle,” the automaker said at the time.

It linked the potential issue to the trim retention clips, which it said may not have been “property engaged due to improper assembly or repair.”

It is estimated that 5% of the recall population was affected, per the report.

When the company recalled the SUVs, it said the issue hadn’t resulted in any crashes or injuries.  

The fix involved taking the recalled Explorers to a dealership and getting replacement A-pillar exterior trim if needed.

Tesla recall of roughly 1.85 million vehicles

The July recall of roughly 1.85 million Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles from the model years 2021-2024 and Model Y vehicles from model years 2020-2024 addressed software that could potentially fail to detect an unlatched hood, according to NHTSA. 

“Unknowingly driving a vehicle with an unlatched hood may result in the hood fully opening and obstructing the driver’s view, increasing the risk of a collision,” the recall report said at the time.

Tesla recalled 2.19 million vehicles in January and 1.85 million more vehicles in July with certain parts of their cars being smaller than what is required by federal safety standards and software issues that could fail to detect an unlatched hood. Getty Images

Tesla said it issued an over-the-air software update that “detects the open hood and provides a customer-facing user interface notification of the open hood state” as a remedy beginning in mid-June. It did not require a visit to a dealership. 

There weren’t any accidents or injuries caused by the issue.

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Honda recall of about 1.69 million vehicles

In October, Honda announced a recall of some 2022-2025 Honda Civic Sedan, 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan, 2022-2025 Honda Civic Hatchback, 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Hatchback, 2023-2025 Honda Civic Type R, 2023-2025 Honda CR-V, 2023-2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2025 Honda CR-V Fuel Cell, 2023-2025 Honda HR-V, 2023-2025 Acura Integra and 2024-2025 Acura Integra Type S vehicles that potentially had an “improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel.”

It encompassed about 1.69 million vehicles. 

The worm wheel and the worm gear in the recalled vehicles could potentially experience “increased friction” that could make steering more difficult and require more effort, the automaker said at the time. 

Honda recalled several of its models from 2022-2025 in October along with some 2023-2025 Acura Integra Type S vehicles that potentially had an “improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel.” jetcityimage – stock.adobe.com

The first complaint about the issue occurred in September 2021.

However, it did not cause any injuries or deaths, according to the October recall report.

Honda told owners to have dealers “replace the worm gear spring with an improved part and redistribute or add grease” to the recalled vehicles to fix the issue. 

FCA US recall of over 1.03 million vehicles

FCA US recalled over 1.03 million vehicles across several brands in mid-June due to a radio software issue that could impact the display of the rearview camera.

A rearview camera image “that does not display decreases the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash,” NHTSA said in June, noting rear visibility requirements for vehicles. 

Certain 2021-2023 Chrysler Pacificas, 2021-2022 Dodge Durangos, 2022-2023 Jeep Compasses, 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokees, 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneers and 2022-2023 Jeep Wagoneers were among the recalled vehicles. Some model year 2022 Ram 1500s, 2500s and 3500s as well as model year 2022-2023 Ram Promasters were also part of it, according to the recall report. 

The automaker provided a free update to the radio software to fix the potential rearview camera display issue.

Owners were notified in early August. 

A Stellantis spokesperson told FOX Business in June that the radio software issue hadn’t been linked to any injuries or accidents.

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