Melinda French Gates: Philanthropy and Empowerment Journey

Melinda French Gates empowers women through philanthropy, focusing on equality and reproductive rights post-divorce.

### Melinda French Gates: From Microsoft to Empowering Women in Philanthropy
* 💼 Melinda French Gates stands out as a billionaire divorcee, not only for her wealth but also for her **influential role in philanthropy** alongside prominent figures like **Michelle Obama** and **MacKenzie Scott**.
* 💻 Her passion for computer science began in Catholic school, where she first encountered **Apple computers**, leading her to earn both a bachelor's and master's degree from **Duke University**.
* 💑 French Gates was recruited by Microsoft in 1987, where she met Bill Gates, and after a brief courtship, they married in 1994 in a **private ceremony that cost around a million dollars**.
* 👶 The couple chose to raise their three children with a unique parenting style, **delaying their kids' access to phones until age 14** and investing **$37 million in equestrian properties** for their daughter.
* 🌍 Their philanthropic journey started during a 1993 trip to Africa, which inspired the creation of the **Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation**, now **one of the largest philanthropic organizations globally**.
* 💔 Following their divorce in 2021, attributed to various personal issues, including Bill Gates' relationship with **Jeffrey Epstein**, they maintained a **strong professional relationship** within the foundation.
* 🌟 Now, French Gates is charting her own philanthropic path with Pivotal Ventures, focusing on **women's empowerment, reproductive rights**, and supporting candidates who advocate for these causes.
* 🤝 She shares a parallel journey with MacKenzie Scott, as both women leverage their wealth to support meaningful initiatives, emphasizing the **importance of lifting up women to benefit society as a whole**.

Melinda French Gates is different from your average wealthy divorcee. Obviously, she's worth billions at this point post-divorce. But she's also one of the most influential women in the country right now. She works alongside Michelle Obama, MacKenzie Scott, and other women in power who are really trying to give back to communities that deserve a little bit more. I'm Jordan Hart. I'm a tech reporter here at Business Insider, and today we're going to be spilling the tea on Melinda French Gates. French Gates found her love for computer science all the way back in Catholic school when they brought in Apple computers for the students to try, and she was quickly fascinated by the coding and the logical puzzle that it all presented to her. French Gates would then go on to get her bachelor's and her master's from Duke University. Microsoft recruited French Gates in 1987, and shortly

After that, she met Bill Gates for the first time at a company dinner. He'd asked her out like two weeks in advance, and she said no. He may not have been spontaneous enough for her. So he asked her out for that night, and that time she said yes. So the couple dated for like seven years, and they kept a pretty low profile at Microsoft. The couple were married in 1994 on a golf course in Hawaii in a wedding that reportedly cost about a million dollars. That's probably because Gates booked all of the hotel rooms and all of the helicopters during their wedding so they could keep it as private as possible and avoid anyone flying over trying to snap photos of the wedding. French Gates eventually left Microsoft to focus on raising their children. The couple shared three kids in total, two daughters and one son. And Bill Gates is held as this, like, tech godfather, but he and French Gates ultimately decided

to not let their kids have phones until they were 14 years old. And that's not the only thing that's a little bit different about their parenting style. They've also spent $37 million on properties so their daughter Jennifer could practice show jumping and eventually become a nationally ranked equestrian. But when you're a billionaire, you definitely have some millions to spare. So they weren't spending it all on lavish properties for their kids to practice all of their interests. They were also trying to figure out how they could give back. During a trip to Africa in 1993, the couple witnessed poverty and extreme disparity between the healthcare there and the healthcare that they're used to seeing in the US. When we were engaged, Bill and I talked about the fact that this wealth would go back to society. And that's how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began. It's gone on to become one of the biggest philanthropic

organizations in the US and richer than even some countries. The couple got divorced in 2021. So, there are a few factors that could have contributed to this divorce. French Gates has said in the past that she did not like that Gates had a relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. She said she advised him to break it off. And then there's also the fact of an affair with a Microsoft employee, which Gates has publicly acknowledged. Even though their breakup sounds a little messy, they kept a really good professional relationship, it seems, and they were able to still get work done at the foundation. In the years since her divorce, French Gates says she's dating again. No specifics. She's moved out of the hundred-million-plus-dollar compound, Xanadu 2.0, and into her own smaller property that she said she loves. She's left the Gates Foundation earlier this year. Since leaving the foundation, French Gates

is charting her own course in philanthropy now at Pivotal Ventures. She's focused on getting women in power, helping them achieve equality, and reproductive rights. If you lift up women, you lift up everybody else, and French Gates is accomplishing that by putting money towards contraceptives for women and donating to candidates who champion abortion rights like Kamala Harris. French Gates has come a long way from being a product manager at Microsoft, and her story may sound a little bit similar to another tech founder's ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She got billions in their divorce, and she pledged to give away billions as a result. There's a really palpable string between the two. They can make decisions based on what they want to do and support causes that truly mean something to them instead of kind of having to conform to a role that they feel like maybe they were placed in as a result.

of being a wife of a high-powered billionaire tech exec.

Where Melinda French Gates Spends Her Billions | Business Insider Explains | Business Insider

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Melinda French Gates: A Powerful Influence

Melinda French Gates, a billionaire post-divorce, is one of the most influential women in the country, working with other powerful women to give back to communities in need.

She discovered her passion for computer science in Catholic school, later earning her bachelor's and master's degrees from Duke University.

Melinda and Bill Gates met at Microsoft, dated for seven years, and had a private wedding in Hawaii in 1994, before she left the company to focus on raising their three children.

The Unique Parenting and Philanthropic Journey of Bill and Melinda Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates had a distinctive parenting style, delaying their children's phone use until age 14 and investing $37 million in properties for equestrian training.

Their witnessing of poverty in Africa inspired them to establish the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which became one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the US.

After their divorce in 2021, they maintained a good professional relationship and French Gates has since started dating again and moved into her own smaller property.

French Gates is now at Pivotal Ventures, focusing on women's empowerment, equality, and reproductive rights.

She is funding contraceptives for women and donating to candidates who support abortion rights.

Her philanthropic approach is similar to MacKenzie Scott's, both using their wealth to support meaningful causes.

Life as the Wife of a Billionaire Tech Executive

Being married to a high-powered tech executive comes with immense pressure and public scrutiny.

The lifestyle is often glamorous, but it can also be isolating and demanding.

Balancing family life with the executive's intense work schedule can be challenging, requiring strong communication and support.