Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates Explore Changes to

are discussing changes to the structure of their foundation to add more governance and independence as the philanthropists’ planned divorce calls into question the direction of one of the world’s largest charities.

The billionaires, who have jointly led the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for about two decades, are discussing adding a board and bringing in outside directors, according to people familiar with the matter. Ms. French Gates has pushed for governance changes in the wake of the divorce filing to ensure the future stability of the foundation, some of the people said.
Mark Suzman, chief executive of the Gates Foundation, said he told employees last week that he is actively discussing with Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates possible steps to “strengthen the long-term sustainability and stability of the foundation given the co-chairs’ divorce.”

“No decisions have been made,” Mr. Suzman said in a statement. “Bill and Melinda have reaffirmed their commitment to the foundation and continue to work together on behalf of our mission. These discussions are part of their prudent planning for the future.”

The Gateses, as co-chairs and trustees, currently oversee the foundation’s work and how it is run, while Mr. Suzman handles the day-to-day operations. Warren Buffett, a major foundation donor, is also a trustee and weighs in on key foundation matters. In addition, Mr. Gates’s father, Bill Gates Sr., who died in September 2020, played a major role as a co-chairman.

A house under foreclosure in Las Vegas displays a sign on Oct. 15, 2010, saying that it’s now bank-owned. Sen. Sherrod Brown has vowed increased scrutiny of Wall Street banks, in part after a surge in foreclosures in his hometown in Ohio over a decade ago.

More than a decade later, Democrats control all three branches of government, and Brown and fellow populists like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are in powerful perches to oversee the Big Banks.

And Brown, like many of these top Democrats, believes that too many American are still getting the short end of the stick.

"They never get bailed out," Brown says in an interview with NPR. "They never get a second chance. They're just not in a position in an economy like this, where Wall Street writes the rules, where they can get ahead."

That anger has been magnified at a time when banks have seen their profits soar during the pandemic, in part, thanks to strong actions by the Federal Reserve to support markets.
And top Democrats believe they are justified in pushing for change at Big Banks.

They want to push the country's largest financial institutions to be agents of social change. And they have specific goals, like expanding access to loans and impose fewer fees for average Americans, or more outreach to unbanked and underserved communities.

"They did very well during the pandemic," Brown notes about the banks. "We've seen stratospheric compensation levels. We see stock buybacks and dividend distribution. Yet, wages throughout our economy are essentially flat."
During that hearing, Warren asked Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, about overdraft fees the bank charged its customers during the pandemic, which she estimated at nearly $1.5 billion.

The heated exchange ended when Warren asked Dimon if he would volunteer to refund that money. He declined.

Warren is unapologetic about pushing banks to do more given their roles as critical institutions in society.
The Massachusetts senator played a key role in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

"You know, most people think of congress in terms of passing legislation, and yeah, that's part of the job," she tells NPR. "But the other part of the job is oversight."
But Republican lawmakers disagree with that very premise. They criticize executives for comments they have made – about voting rights, in particular, and they are critical of companies making business decisions based on environmental considerations.

"That ought to be left to elected lawmakers," says Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., the ranking Republican on Brown's Banking Committee.

Bankers aren't naïve to the politics at play. Democrats have a small majority in the House of Representatives and a razor-thin majority in the Senate. And the midterm elections are less than two years away.But Republican lawmakers disagree with that very premise. They criticize executives for comments they have made – about voting rights, in particular, and they are critical of companies making business decisions based on environmental considerations.

"That ought to be left to elected lawmakers," says Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., the ranking Republican on Brown's Banking Committee.

Bankers aren't naïve to the politics at play. Democrats have a small majority in the House of Representatives and a razor-thin majority in the Senate. And the midterm elections are less than two years away.
But even with a change in power in Congress, analysts warn banks are likely to face continued presure from Democrats — and society — on key aspects of their operations, from whom they lend money to where they invest.