Back Melinda Gates Afrikaans مليندا غيتس Arabic مليندا جيتس ARZ মেলিণ্ডা গেট্‌ছ Assamese Melinda Gates AST Melinda Geyts Azerbaijani مئلیندا قئیتس AZB Melinda French Gates BCL Мелинда Гейтс Bulgarian মেলিন্ডা গেটস Bengali/Bangla

Melinda French Gates

In this article, the surname is French Gates, not Gates.

Melinda French Gates
French Gates in 2014
Born
Melinda Ann French

(1964-08-15) August 15, 1964 (age 60)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
EducationDuke University (BA, MBA)
Occupations
  • Co-founder and former co-chair at the Gates Foundation
  • Founder at Pivotal Ventures
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1994; div. 2021)​
[1]
Children3
Awards
WebsiteGates Co-Founder Profile; Pivotal Founder Profile

Melinda French Gates[2] (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964) is an American philanthropist. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she attended Duke University, from which she received a degree in computer science and economics as well as an MBA. Shortly after joining Microsoft in 1987 as a multimedia product developer, she began dating the company's co-founder and then-CEO Bill Gates. She and Gates married in 1994 and have three children together.

In 2000, the couple jointly founded and co-chaired the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization.[3] For their philanthropic endeavors, which focused on global health, development, and education, the couple received numerous awards and honors, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honour.

Following the couple's 2021 divorce, French Gates resigned in 2024 as co-chair of the foundation, which was subsequently renamed the Gates Foundation, with Bill Gates as its sole chair.[4] As part of her settlement, she received $12.5 billion for her own independent charitable work, which she has stated will focus on women and families.[5][6] She has since become a prominent megadonor to the Democratic Party, with a focus on abortion rights. She endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election.[7]

Forbes magazine has consistently ranked French Gates as one of the world's most powerful women.[8] She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.[9] As of May 2025, her net worth is estimated at US$30.4 billion, according to Forbes.[10]

  1. ^ Novet, Jordan (August 2, 2021). "Bill and Melinda French Gates are officially divorced following 27-year marriage". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  2. ^ King County Superior Court Clerk (May 3, 2021). "Gates Petition for Divorce" (PDF). TMZ. The Washington Post. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. ^ Mathiesen, Karl (March 16, 2015). "What is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to change name". Newsweek. May 13, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  5. ^ Goldman, David (May 13, 2024). "Melinda French Gates is resigning from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation". CNN. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Malik, Yuvraj; Soni, Aditya (May 14, 2024). "Melinda Gates to exit Gates Foundation with $12.5 billion for own charity work". Reuters. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  7. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (October 6, 2024). "Melinda French Gates's New Life: Abortion Politics and Kamala Harris". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  8. ^ "Power Women". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  9. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "Melinda French Gates". Forbes. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.

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