Biography of Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates is an American philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women. She is a co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation along with her ex-husband Bill Gates. In 2021, French was named one of the BBC’s 100 Women. Furthermore, she is also a former multimedia product developer and manager at Microsoft.
French was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, United States. She completed her basic education at St. Monica, where she was valedictorian. Thereafter, she attended the Ursuline Academy of Dallas, where she graduated in 1982. She continued her education at Duke University, where she majored in computer science and economics. Furthermore, Melinda also earned an MBA from Duke’s Fugua School of Business. While there, she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Beta Rho Chapter.
Shortly after graduating from university, French was hired as a marketing manager at Microsoft. There she was responsible for the development of multimedia products. After that, she worked at Expedia, which became one of the most popular travel booking sites. From 1990 to 1996, Melinda worked as General Manager of Information Products. That same year, she left at an older age to start a family. Furthermore, Gates also served on the Board of Trustees of Duke University from 1996 to 2003.
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Furthermore, Melinda also owns a philanthropic and advocacy organization called the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with her ex-husband. She led the organization to become the richest charitable foundation in the world. The Gates Foundation has given money to various projects to improve global poverty, inequality and global health. The foundation focuses on issues in five major programmatic areas which include; the Global Health Division, Global Development Division, Global Growth and Opportunity Division, US Division, and Global Policy and Advocacy Division.
Furthermore, French has also published her book titled The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World. She also started an investment and incubation company called Pivotal Ventures to address the wage gap and support female founders in the United States. In addition, she and her ex-husband received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the United States and the Legion of Honor from France.
Age of Melinda French Gates
Melinda is 58 years old in 2023. She was born in August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas, United States. Furthermore, she celebrates her birthday on 15th of August every year.
Melinda French Gates Height/Weight
Gates stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches high. she weighs around 60 kilos.
Husband of Melinda French Gates
French was married to billionaire Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. The couple started dating in 1987 after meeting at a fair in New York. The pair exchanged vows in 1994 in a private ceremony held in Lanai, Hawaii. They have three children: two daughters Jennifer and Phoebe Gates and a son Rory Gates. In May 2021, the couple announced their separation after 27 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in August of that year. Gates currently lives in Medina, Washington with his family.
Melinda French Gates Family
Melinda is the daughter of Raymond Joseph French Jr and Elaine Agnes Amerland. Her father is an aerospace engineer while her mother is a housewife. She is the second daughter in the family. Gates has two younger brothers and an older sister.
Melinda French Gates Net Worth
Melinda has an estimated net worth of between $2 billion to $10 billion dollars. This includes your personal assets, money and income. She accumulated her wealth from her career as a philanthropist and businesswoman.
