The children of Bill and Melinda Gates, who announced their divorce on Tuesday, will not inherit their parents' entire vast fortune that as per Forbes is estimated to be worth $130.5 billion. The couple, who were married for over 27 years, has three children, Jennifer Katharine Gates (25), Rory John Gates (21), Phoebe Adele Gates (18). The couple said in a statement, “We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives...We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
Why won’t the Gates children be inheriting their parents’ fortune?
It has been long known that the Gates children will not be inheriting the entire wealth of their parents; Gates in 2014 had also announced at a TED Conference in Canada that most of his fortune would be given to the family’s foundation.
After announcing the donation of a major chunk of his wealth to Gates Foundation in 2014, three years later, the Microsoft co-founder said that his three children would inherit US$10 million each. At the time, he had reportedly said, “I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favour to them. Warren Buffett was part of an article in Fortune talking about this in 1986 before I met him and it made me think about it and decide he was right.”
It was in 2017 on a Reddit Ask Me Anything segment on the social network, that the Microsoft co-founder added that his children will get less than 1% of his fortune, that includes properties in five states, a private jet, an art collection and a fleet of luxury cars.
Who are Bill Gates' Children?
The former couple’s three children include Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe, with their dad being the fourth richest person in the world. The Gates family was based in Seattle when the children were younger and reportedly all three were not allowed to have a phone until the age of 14. As per reports and their social media accounts, Jennifer is a horse lover and has competed professionally in equestrian.
Presently, the eldest daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates is now a medical student in New York City after she graduated with a degree in human biology from Standford University in 2018. Jennifer is also engaged to Nayel Nassar, who is a professional Egyptian equestrian rider and also a Stanford graduate.
Meanwhile, Melinda has described her son Rory as ‘compassionate, curious, intelligent, well-read and deeply informed’. As per her article for Time magazine on her son’s 18th birthday, Rory has also incorporated the family’s inclination to solve puzzles. Melinda also said that the 21-year-old is a feminist and a great son and brother. Phoebe has studied at The School of American Ballet.
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old asked her followers on Instagram for privacy as the family navigates the “challenging” time. In an Instagram story, that expires in 24 hours, Jennifer said that she is still learning how to best support her own process and emotions and that she is grateful for having the space to do the same. However, the 25-year-old denied commenting any further on “anything around separation” of her parents but noted her followers’ kind words and support “mean the world” to her.
Image credits: @Jenniferkgates/Instagram
Bill Gates tweeted a statement in which the ex-couple wrote that they have decided to end their marriage after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on their
relationship. pic.twitter.com/padmHSgWGc — Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021 The couple has asked for space and privacy to navigate the new change in their life and has said that they will continue to work together at the
foundation as they share a belief in the mission. But they believe that they cannot grow together as a couple in the next phase of their lives. Melinda French Gates is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and global advocate for women and girls rights. She is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a non-profit organisation that
fights poverty, inequity and disease around the world. In the foundation, she has been working to improve equity in the United States and all around the world.Who is Melinda French Gates?
She has been working for more than two decades with the foundation.
Melinda Gates is also the founder of and investment and incubation company Pivotal Ventures, which works to drive social progress in the United States for women and families. She is the author of the bestselling book The Moment of Lift.
She has
a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Economics and an MBA both from Duke University.
She has three children with Bill Gates who are Jennifer Katharine Gates, Rory John Gates, and Phoebe Adele Gates.
Jennifer Katharine Gates
Jennifer Gates is the eldest daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, who is also a Stanford graduate in Human Biology. She is now pursuing her degree in Medicine from the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.
After the announcement of her parent’s divorce, Gates spoke about their separation on Instagram and said that she is trying to navigate her feelings and emotions along with her family. She also thanked people for giving her space to come to terms with the situation.
In January this year, Jennifer Gates announced that she was engaged to Nayel Nassar, a renowned Egyptian equestrian who also graduated from Stanford University.
Rory John Gates
Rory John Gates is the second child and the only son of the couple. He attended his father’s alma mater Seattle’s private Lakeside School along with both of her sisters.
He is not active on any social media platform, hence little is known about him. But he reportedly attends the University of Chicago. A photo of him with the Moot Court team of the university was circulated on the internet and suggests that he is earning a degree in law.
Rory John Gates is known to be a feminist after her mother penned an essay for Time magazine in which she wrote about his perspective.
Melinda Gates called him intelligent and well-read and deeply informed about a wide range of issues. Gates wrote that one of the things that makes her the proudest is that Rory Gates is a feminist.
Phoebe Adele Gates
The youngest daughter of the couple Phoebe Adele Gates is trained in ballet from a prestigious institution in New York. The Wonderlist website ranked her among the 10 most powerful kids in the world under 12 a few years ago.
She also takes classes in dance from The School of American Ballet at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York and The Julliard School at the Lincoln Centre Plaza.