WASHINGTON - American philanthropist Melinda French Gates, the ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, endorsed President Joe Biden for November's US election, arguing that he is the best candidate for women.
"I've never endorsed a presidential candidate before. But this year's election stands to be so enormously consequential for women and families that, this time, I can't stay quiet," she said on X.
"Women deserve a leader who cares about the issues they face and is committed to protecting their safety, their health, their economic power, their reproductive rights, and their ability to freely and fully participate in a functioning democracy."
French Gates, who recently stepped down as president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said the contrast between Biden and his Republican opponent Donald Trump "couldn't be greater, and the stakes couldn't be higher."
"I will be voting for President Biden," she concluded.
Former New York mayor and businessman Mike Bloomberg also said on Thursday he was endorsing Biden and had donated $19-million to his campaign, according to the Washington Post.
Trump, meanwhile, received high-profile support from investor twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who announced they had each donated $1-million toward the Republican candidate's election bid.
And businessman Timothy Mellon contributed $50-million to a Trump-supporting super PAC -- an organization that pools campaign contributions, according to a New York Times report on Thursday.