With a net worth of more than $107.8 billion, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world today. However, Gates– who is also known for his philanthropic works and as an author– believes that wealth and success are something that should be earned by people instead of being inherited. And so, he wants his children to made a career of their own instead of inheriting his wealth or being overshadowed by his success.
For the unversed, Bill Gates has three children with his ex-wife Melinda French, namely– Jennifer Gates Nassar, Rory Gates, and Phoebe Gates.
Sharing his views on not being in favour of distributing his wealth among his children, Bill Gates told Raj Shamani in an interview, “Well, I think everybody gets to decide on that. In my case, my kids got a great upbringing, education, but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favour to them. It’s not a dynasty. I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had.”
Elaborating his views, Gates furthers said, “Different families see that differently. I think the people who’ve made fortunes from technology are less dynastic and so they’ll even take their capital and give a lot of that away. You can have the view of giving away your capital or just giving away your earnings. And, of course, I love all philanthropy, but the tech sector is probably the most aggressive about giving most of it away.”
Bill Gates’ business empire
Gates co-founded Microsoft, which made $212 billion in revenue in 2023. His investments extend beyond tech, including stakes in Canadian National Railway, Deere, and Republic Services.
Bill Gates and Melinda French: Life after divorce
Credit: X/@BillGates
Bill Gates and Melinda French were married for roughly three decades and have three children together. Once considered as one of the most respectable billionaire couple in the world, Bill Gates and Melinda French’s divorce announcement in May 2021 came as a shock to many.
Both Gates and French have now spoken about their divorce. In a recent interview, Gates told The Times, “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years,” calling it his “biggest regret.” Meanwhile, French described her divorce in her upcoming memoir as dreams of “a beautiful house collapsing” around her in late 2019.
Since then, both Gates and French have moved on in their personal lives; they are both dating other people now. While Bill Gates is dating philanthropist Paula Hurd, Melinda French is with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn.
