| Real Name/Full Name | Melinda French Gates |
| Nick Name/Celebrated Name: | Melinda Gates |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Date Of Birth/Birthday: | 15 August 1964 |
| Age/How Old: | 60 years old |
| Height/How Tall: | In Centimetres – 168 cm In Feet and Inches – 5′ 6″ |
| Weight: | In Kilograms – 60 Kg In Pounds – 132 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Dark brown |
| Hair Color: | Light brown |
| Parents Name: | Father – Raymond Joseph French Jr. Mother – Elaine Agnes Amerland |
| Siblings: | Unknown |
| School: | St. Monica Catholic School |
| College: | Duke University |
| Religion: | Christian |
| Nationality: | American |
| Zodiac Sign: | Leo |
| Gender: | Female |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Boyfriend: | N.A |
| Husband/Spouse Name: | Bill Gates |
| Kids/Children Name: | Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory Gates |
| Profession: | Co-chair and founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Net Worth: | $2.3 billion |
| Last Updated: | December 2024 |
Melinda French Gates, born Melinda Ann French, is an American businesswoman and a philanthropist. She initially worked as the general manager at Microsoft. Forbes has regularly ranked her as among the most powerful women in the world. She and her former husband, Bill Gates, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, which in 2015 was the largest private charitable organization in the world.
Biography and Early Life
Melinda Gates was born in Dallas, Texas, on 15 August 1964 with three other siblings. She is the second child to Raymond Joseph French Jr. and Elaine Agnes Amerland, and her father worked as an aerospace engineer while her mother was a homemaker. She has one older sister and two younger brothers. She was brought up in the catholic faith.
Education
Melinda was a very bright student. She attended St. Monica Catholic High School and was the top student in her class. Her father and a teacher named Mrs. Bauer introduced her to the Apple II at the age of 14. The experience made her develop an interest in computer games and also a BASIC programming language.
She graduated from Ursuline Academy of Dallas in 1982 as Valedictorian. She is graduated in 1986 from Duke University with a bachelor in Computer Science and Economics degree. In 1987, she earned her MBA from Fuqua School of Business.
Personal Life: Husband, Children, Boyfriend, Divorce, etc.
Melinda met Bill Gates in 1987 at a trade fair in New York. Shortly after, they started dating. Their wedding took place in 1994 in a private ceremony in Lanai, Hawaii. They are blessed with three children; Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory.
Melinda and her husband announced on social media their plans to divorce after 27 years of marriage in May 2021. Wall Street Journal disclosed that Melinda had met a divorce lawyer in October 2019; fter her husband’s business with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, became public. Melinda had warned her husband from associating with him since 2013.
Is Melinda Gates Lesbian/Gay?
No. Melinda is of straight sexual orientation. She has associated with only one man in her entire life, and that is Bill Gates, who had been her husband until their divorce in May 2021.
Professional Career
Melinda started her career journey working as a tutor for children, teaching them mathematics and computer programming. After graduating, she was employed as a marketing manager for Microsoft. She had earlier been responsible for developing multimedia products like Cinemania, Publisher, Encarta, Microsoft Bob, Work (Macintosh), Word, and Money.
She worked on Expedia, which later became a popular travel booking website. She was appointed as General Manager of Information Products from 1990 until 1996. That same year, she left Microsoft to focus on her new family. Melinda was part of the Board of Trustees of Duke University from 1996 to 2003.
Melinda and her husband started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the year 2000. She had been active in the public eye, which helped her gain recognition while shaping and delivering goals for the foundation. The two donated $28 billion out of their wealth to the organization in 2014. Melinda founded Pivotal Venture in 2015 as a separate entity to help identify innovative solutions affecting women and children in the United States.
Melinda has also ventured into writing. She is the author of the book “The Moment of the Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.” To promote the book, former U.S. president Barack Obama appeared in a comedy sketch on its topic.
Awards and Achievements
Melinda has been a successful lady, and together with her ex-husband, they have received various awards. They received an award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged in 2002 by Jefferson Awards. Together in 2005, the Times named them Persons of the Year. They had also been awarded the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in May 2006.
Melinda received the Insignia of the Order of the Aztec Eagle, and Bill received the placard of the same order in November 2006. She has an honorary doctorate in medicine from Karolinska Institute and then an honorary degree with her husband from Cambridge. She has severally been ranked in the list of 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes.
President Francois Hollande awarded her and her husband the Legion of Honor in 2017. She was also awarded the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2016.
Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Melinda Gates in 2024
Melinda has accumulated an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion. She has acquired her wealth from various business dealing. She worked as the General Manager of Microsoft for several years. Together with her former husband, they founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has also been the primary source of her wealth.
Some Interesting Facts You Need To Know
- She had purchased a $1.2 million cottage in Seattle’s North Broadway, only three weeks before their divorce.
- Melinda has encouraged more women to work in the computing field after her experience in Microsoft in a male-dominated environment.
Melinda Gates is one of the greatest women in the world who has portrayed that women also can do well in society. She even started a foundation that has inspired many women and families in the United States. Forbes has also recognized her among the most powerful women in the world.