Bill Gates’ children will earn just a small fraction of his fortune.
The Microsoft cofounder is worth an estimated $101.2 billion, according to Forbes, but he will leave “less than 1%” of that to his three children, Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
“My kids got a great upbringing and education, but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favor to them,” Gates explained during a March 29 appearance on the “Figuring Out With Raj Shamani” podcast.
He continued, “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. You know, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had.”
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“Different families see that differently,” Gates, 69, reasoned. “I think the people who’ve made fortunes from technology are less dynastic … they’ll even take their capital and give a lot of that away.”
Host Raj Shamani then asked Gates whether his children have ever questioned why they won’t receive a larger percentage of his fortune.
“You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support and love for them,” Gates responded. “I do think explaining early on your philosophy, that you’re going to treat them all equally and that you’re going to give them incredible opportunities … but the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation.”
“They’ve seen the success of the foundation, they’re very proud,” he added, referring to the Gates Foundation, the charity he launched in 2000 with ex-wife Melinda Gates.
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Bill and Melinda went public with their split in May 2021.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” they wrote in a joint statement. “Over the last 27 years, 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.”
The statement concluded: “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 this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
The pair’s divorce was finalized in August 2021. Melinda has since opened up about what led to the end of their marriage.
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“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened,” she told CBS Mornings in March 2022. “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.”
Bill weighed in on Melinda’s comments two months later, sharing on Today, “This was a very tough thing. We had a lot of amazing things in our marriage. The kids, the foundation, the enjoyment we had. And so it’s a very hard adjustment. I know divorces are different, but it’s just a complete change. We were partners, we kind of grew up together, and now that’s different. We’re not married.”
