When their first child was born, in 1996, she left the company to concentrate on her family and on the couples charitable work. The couple, both Mormons, were married at the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City soon after Gina graduated with a bachelors degree in communications in 1986. And I'm really, really excited about my life and about the worldthe work ahead. Melinda loved playing soccer in her high school and college days. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Melinda Gates was born as Melinda Ann French [1]Biography on Saturday, August 15, 1964 (age 57 years; as of 2021), in Dallas, Texas, US. Others who have joined it include Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie. She is better with people than I am.". French Gates said previously that her reasons for the divorce could be distilled into no longer being able to trust what we had., It wasnt one moment or one specific thing that happened, French Gates told host Gayle King on CBS This Morning. Melinda was also on the board of directors at Drugstore.com but left it in August 2006 to focus on her philanthropy work. What a life this lady has lived. Post her marriage to Bill Gates, Melinda came to be known as Melinda French Gates. Best Known For: Melinda Gates, the former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which strives to improve global health and education. Calls seeking comment from French Gates, Gina Larsen Du Pre, Kasey Du Pre and Jon Du Pre were not returned this week. Bill stepped down from Microsoft's board last year to focus on his philanthropic activities. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Read about our approach to external linking. I don't wish him harm. DeSantis won't say he's running. Ultimately, the next global threat came in the form of the novel coronavirus that rapidly spread after first surfacing in China in late 2019. I hold my head high. He tells readers that he and his family live in Californias Ventura County where he worked for the Fox News Network. ", Added Melinda: "Bill wanted to be married, but he didn't know whether he could actually commit to it and have Microsoft.". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Bill Gates daughter living in $51M NYC home as she welcomes first baby, Bill Gates dodges Jeffrey Epstein questions during Reddit AMA chat, Bill Gates daughter Jennifer Gates expecting first child with her husband, Melinda French Gates linked to hunky ex-Fox News correspondent, The Prodigal Father: A True Story of Tragedy, Survival and Reconciliation in an American Family.. Luckily, Fortune was able to score a sit-down interview with her in January of 2008 her first solo profile ever. She found his sense of humor surprising and refreshing within the context of the corporate climate of the times. Of course, so many of us know Melinda as the name that follows Bill it's Bill and Melinda Gates, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "It took him quite a few months before he asked me out," Melinda said about their early dating lives. I mean, days where I'm literally laying on the floor and the carpet, you know, this close to me, thinking, "How can this be? You're grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. You'd think that the co-founder of Microsoft, one of the biggest tech companies quite literally ever, would have gotten every kind of college degree necessary in order to set himself up for success. "I said she'd be a good match for him because she had intellectual stamina," she told the outlet. Within his line of work, Ray worked on the Apollo mission, and Gates spent her childhood (naturally) watching NASA rocket launches talk about an experience to be inspired by (via the Los Angeles Times). After she left college, Melinda lived in a house in Leschi, Seattle. As noted by the Los Angeles Times, Gates has been a vocal advocate for women's rights, particularly about access to contraception, which goes against the very nature of the religion in which she was brought up. He was abhorrent, evil personified. The following year, they were recognized for their philanthropic work with the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. She held the position till 1996, and subsequently, she resigned from Microsoft to focus on her family. Her hard work earned her the position of General Manager of Information Products in 1990. "She's a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is interested in science. We are friendly at this point. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day we ended it. '", "It's absolutely a partnership of equals," she added. As noted by theIndependent, after Gates left Duke University, she was hired as an intern for International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in 1986, IBM was creating personal computers that could be, for the first time, transported elsewhere. After the couple announced their divorce, their daughter Jennifer Gates wrote on Instagram. By 01:20. The philanthropist said that jobs in computer science are some of the most needed, and girls should be filling the spots. After tying the knot on the Hawaiian island of Lanai on Jan. 1, 1994, Bill and Melinda went on to have three kids: son Rory John, 21, and daughters Phoebe Adele, 18, and Jennifer Katharine, 25. Melinda and Bill Gates jointly received Indias third-highest civilian honor, Padma Bhushan, in recognition of their philanthropic activities in India (2015). He met his first wife while they were both studying journalism at Brigham Young University in Utah in the mid 1980s. Melinda Gatesis an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and global advocate for women and girls. Marking the 10th edition of their foundation's annual letter, the couple in 2018 decided to answer 10 of the toughest questions they face regarding their work. Charlie Lankston For Dailymail.com. Im going to find out why my father fked up my life, and piss on you for trying to make me feel guilty about it.. ". Melinda Gates took a job at Microsoft Corporation in 1987 and married her boss, Bill Gates, in 1994. As such, she adhered to the backbone of the religion and while she is an incredibly private person, Gates did reveal that it took time for her to understand and move past some of the more narrow-minded perspectives she had as a young person. Bill Gates said in a Netflix documentary, We cared a lot for each other and there were only two possibilities: either, we were going to break up or we were going to get married.. Melinda Gates with her daughter, Jennifer Gates. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. In 1994, the two were wed on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. She first became interested in computers when a seventh-grade teacher placed her in an advanced math class. Read about our approach to external linking. And I do feel like I'm turning a page in the chapter now. And at the end of the day though, I started on this journey of healing, and I feel like I'm starting to get to the other side. He previously acknowledged one affair. She was ranked #4 in Forbes 2012 and 2016 lists of the 100 Most Powerful Women. Gates remained committed to change the state of education in the United States, and through her foundations Gates Millennium Scholars program, she has helped students fund their studies. Reportedly, Melinda and Bill Gates hired all the local helicopters on their wedding day to halt the unwanted guests flying over their wedding venue. 'I'm not saying it was easy but I'm saying for me I had days where I had tears the hour before an online meeting or I'd be angry but I still rose to be my higher self and I think we can continue to do that.'. In May 2014, she attended a talk about saving newborn lives with health ministers and experts from around the world at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. This week, sources told TMZ that the billionaire philanthropist and former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 58, was dating Jon Du Pre, a former TV news anchor and author, who was locked in a nine-year court battle with his wife over child support, according to public records. If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Kingasked Melinda:'Once trust is broken, isn't it hard to get it back?' The terms of it were never made public but Bill was worth around $152billion at the time, giving Melinda a 50 percent settlement of $76billion. The Summit called for unprecedented global political commitments and resources that will enable 120 million more women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020. Melinda spoke about how, despite the couple going through their divorce behind the scenes, they were still able to work 'effectively together'. In 1987, she joined the Microsoft Corporation as a product manager, developing multimedia and interactive products like Cinemania, Encarta, Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Money, Works (Macintosh), and Word. I knew I would meet Bill because the company was small," she said. Bill and Melinda Gates have been one of the world's most famous couples for three decades and along the way, they've been candid about how their relationship worked. 'It wasn't one moment or one specific thing that happened, there just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn't healthy, and I couldn't trust what we had. Melinda and Bill Gates were awarded Frances highest national award, the Legion of Honour, in Paris for their charity efforts by the French President Franois Hollande (2017). This is painful stuff. Melinda is the former wife of the American business magnate Bill Gates. "When he was having trouble making the decision about getting married, he was incredibly clear that it was not about me," she told the outlet. "We can play putt-putt while discussing biotechnology," he told the magazine in 1997. And I'm really, really excited about my life and about the worldthe work ahead,' she said. Three years later they launched the Gates Library Foundation (renamed Gates Learning Foundation in 1999) to benefit North American libraries, with a particular focus on bringing Internet technology to public libraries. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Melinda-Gates, The My Hero Project - Biography of Melinda Gates. Melinda gates with her family The couple decided to end their 27-year-long marriage in 2021. Their foundation helps students fund their studies through the Gates Millennium Scholars program. Melinda also revealed that she and Bill are not friends but are 'friendly' and work together, and she suggested he had more than one affair throughout their 27-year-marriage. As noted by Biography, Gates' mother, Elaine French, never pursued her education on a collegiate level so, as a mother, it was a huge part of her role to encourage her children to achieve academic success. I made it very clear how I felt about him.'. "Every spring, as they have for more than a decade, Gates spends a long weekend with Winblad at her beach cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where they ride dune buggies, hang-glide and walk on the beach.". As noted by The Seattle Times, Gates' first exposure to the computer was the Apple II, which, of course, was made by Macintosh (not Microsoft, what a scandal). "Think of the number of people who leave New York City every day and go all over the world we're an interconnected world.". "I took the idea of marriage very seriously," Bill explained in the documentary. The interview was filmed at the offices of Melinda's new company, Pivotal Ventures, in Seattle. In 2004, Gates became one of the Board of Directors of The Washington Post company. Given her mother's dedication to education, it makes complete sense that one of Gates' initiatives through her foundation is education. Before meeting one tech pioneer, Melinda Gates was inspired by another computer genius' work Instagram We all know that Melinda Gates is (but soon won't be) married to the co-founder of Microsoft, one of the largest tech companies in existence, but her love affair with computers started with a rival company. In a statement to CBS News, Bill Gates said: "Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. During an interview, talking about Gates, Melinda said, Methodical it seems even in matters of the heart writing a list on a whiteboard with the pros and the cons of getting married.. In her current role, Joelle oversees all things TV and enjoys being able to say she has to watch The Kardashians, Dancing with the StarsandAmerica's Got Talent for "work". 'He was abhorrent, evil personified. The two married on Jan. 1, 1994, raised three children. Melinda Gates during the Annual Employee Meeting of her foundation. Melinda was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Duke University as a tribute for her philanthropic commitment (2013). CRYING ON THE CARPET AND REALIZING HER MARRIAGE WAS OVER BUT THAT SHE DID 'NOTHING WRONG AND HOLDS HER HEAD HIGH'. She cried 'on the carpet' at times while working through the divorce that they announced in May last year, She had forgiven Bill for a 2000 affair but he had to answer to reports of multiple affairs, The pair are 'friendly' now but are not 'friends': 'I wish him well,' she said, Every billionaire should give away at least half of their wealth, She does not blame herself for the divorce, saying 'I did nothing wrong, I hold my head high', She has launched her own company now called Pivotal Ventures but will continue to work at The Gates Foundation. ", "Even when we were dating early on, I never thought we would get married," continued Melinda. At a Microsoft employee dinner, of all places. The couple dated for six years before Bill proposed to Melinda. 'It was not one thing, it was many things [that led to the divorce]. Melinda is the co-chair of the "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," world's largest private charitable foundation. In March 2014, Melinda and Bill Gates appeared as a speaker at Vancouvers first TED conference. If you are lucky enough to be a billionaire, believe me - you can give half of it away and it will not change your life. [2]LinkedIn During her college days, she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Beta Rho Chapter. There's so much about her life that has to be pieced together from rare interviews, her memoir, commencement speeches, and little tid-bits she shares on social media. He may be of the most successful men on the planet, but Melinda said she was less than impressed when the Microsoft billionaire asked her out for the first time. He developed such a strong bond with Winblad that Bill made sure to keep her in his life after they split in 1987. before having to attend a Gates foundation meeting, and how she is dating again. At that time, she decided to leave her job at Microsoft so she could focus on child-rearing and philanthropic efforts. Melinda is an American philanthropist ranked as one of the world's most powerful women. The solution? She said she made it clear that she did not like him meeting with Epstein. How will she define herself outside of her decades-long, highly-influential relationship? In June billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a personal friend of the couple, announced his plan to direct some $30 billion of his fortune to the Gates Foundation in the coming years. He was abhorrent. If you want to go far, go with others.. In 1999 the couple combined the William H. Gates Foundation with two of their other charitable organizations, the Gates Library Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation. "He's had to learn how to be an equal, and I've had to learn how to step up and be an equal," she wrote. "I had parents who told me every step of the way, 'You can get what you want,'" she said. "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the pair tweeted. In 2012 she pledged $560 million toward improving access to contraception for women in poor countries. Dozens of filings offer a glimpse of a prolonged and ugly battle over the support of the three children, including negotiations over custody and a hearing over an unpaid orthodontist bill. Demonstrating their support of progressive workplace policies, Melinda and Bill announced in 2015 that employees of their foundation would receive up to a year's paid leave after the birth of a child or the adoption of a child. Melinda and her husband devoted their foundation's considerable resources toward combating the outbreak, pairing with leading pharmaceutical companies to fund the development of a vaccine. 'I felt bad about that, but I probably, I didn't have any sense of how big of news it would be. Of course, Melinda Gates finally met Bill Gates when she started working at Microsoft, and the rest is history. In the same year, she sat together with Bill Gates (an American Business tycoon) for dinner at a trade fair in New York. Oh, college. 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Bill has said in the past that meeting with Epstein multiple times was a 'huge' mistake and error in judgement. Melinda Gates was a standout student who helped the other kids with their programming skills so would it surprise you to discover that she attended Duke University? He is the co-founder of Microsoft, while she is the computer scientist who pushed him into the world of philanthropy they seemed like the perfect match. Why the heightened privacy? She has been with the brand for five years, beginning her time as a digital news writer, where she covered everything from entertainment news to crime stories and royal tours. "We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.". 'I wish him well. We should have a society where if you have wealth, you put it back into society so that you can change and uplift others.'. Melinda Gates has revealed that she is dating again following her split from Bill Gates.. They rarely speak to journalists and have told former neighbors and associates not to speak about them to the media it's all very hush-hush, but, as noted by The Seattle Times, Melinda has always been a private person. I admire Melinda and everything she does to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, and I'm grateful for the work we continue to do together at our foundation. Through these changes, the foundation underscored its commitment to solving health problems around the world, with particular emphasis on developing treatments and vaccines for malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis; controlling insects that transmit diseases; and developing superfoods in the fight against malnutrition. Melinda, now 56, joined Microsoft as a product manager in 1987, and the two sat together at a business dinner that year in New York. "He asked: 'Is that spontaneous enough for you? She went on to pursue this interest in college, earning a bachelor's degree in computer science from Duke University in 1986. She said dating was 'interesting at this point' but did not give any additional details. I kept working with the person I was moving away from, and I needed to show up and be my best self every single day, she said. Her father, Ray French, worked as an aerospace engineer (no wonder his daughter was interested in STEM), and her mother, Elaine French, worked as a stay-at-home mom (anyone who tells you that being a mom isn't work can kindly show themselves to the door). Bill and Melinda Gates announced the end of their 27-year relationship Monday, shocking the business and philanthropic worlds. ), she started playing computer games. In anticipation of dividing its assets among the most pressing needs, Melinda then restructured the organization into three departments: worldwide health, global development, and U.S. community and education. She is 52 years old. '. He blames post-traumatic stress from his childhood for his outbursts against his wife, and reaches that conclusion after a chance meeting with a psychiatrist on a plane. Melinda and Bill Gates in Cambodia during a malaria screening and treatment program. Melinda Gates in childhood In addition, Gates was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, which, on the Duke campus, had approximately 80 sorority sisters. Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak. That year, she and her husband co-founded what was later to become the Bill & Melinda. "You know, we cared a lot for each other and there were only two possibilities: either, we were going to break up or we were going to get married. "We saw money coming in and money going out." Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In an exclusive interview with "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, French Gates said that she never thought she would end up being divorced and did not expect their split to be a national conversation. The Gates' is the second high-profile divorce among tech's ultra-wealthy in recent years. "We would help him run the business and keep the books," she said. 03:28. When it came time for Bill to propose to Melinda, he asked his ex, Winblad, for her permission. Despite their divorce, French Gates and her former husband continue to co-chair their Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is worth nearly $50 billion, according to public records. New York CNN Business . And I think we have a productive working relationship, and I think that will continue," said French Gates. During his recent interaction with London's Sunday Times, Bill revealed having no regrets after ending his 27-year marriage and even shared how he would love to get married again to Melinda. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Though Melinda chose to be a stay-at-home mom while Bill remained CEO of Microsoft, she told CBS' Sunday Morning in 2017 that they made sure to have an equal partnership. Early in her marriage shed discovered there was something wrong with her new husband, an anger just under the skin that broke through like an erupted boil whenever I was corrected or criticized, or even made to feel inferior through some act of generosity on her part. Here are some of the most surprising aspects of their journey together. Those years can be the absolute best, the absolute worst, and the most tiring time of a person's life. "But I said to him, 'You know, it just doesn't make sense. As noted by Biography, Gates "developed an early interest in computers" due in part to the math classes she took, and her interest only grew with time. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier,' a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal last year. Melinda and Bill Gates were named Persons of the Year alongside Bono by Time (2005). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's efforts also came to address global poverty and health issues. "Well, I think it's really important to say, look, I had a lot of tears for many days. 'I think it's really important to say, look, I had a lot of tears for many days, I mean days where I'm literally lying on the floor on the carpet thinking, 'How can this be? So, Gates' parents started putting in the work early to ensure their daughter's academic success. Instead, it compelled other organizations, firms, and even countries to help underwrite programs. "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. The 57-year-old, who shocked the world when she and Bill announced in May 2021 that they were ending their 27-year marriage, previously told how she endured emotionally challenging times whilst working with the billionaire. Jon Du Pre grew up in South Carolina in a family that was plagued by so many problems that we barely made it to school in the morning. His father, at first a successful lawyer who took on civil rights cases, cheated on his mother, and spent most of his life drinking and plagued by debt. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric', The people who want you to believe the Ukraine war is fake. 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