- Melinda Gates turns 60 and is going her own way.
With a brief announcement in May 2021, the Gates couple shocked the world: "After careful consideration and much work on our relationship, we have decided to end our marriage," Bill and Melinda Gates wrote at the time. "Over the past 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation dedicated to enabling healthy and productive lives worldwide. But we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives." It was a "challenging time for our entire family," their eldest daughter Jennifer revealed.
The divorce is now final, and just ahead of her 60th birthday on Thursday (August 15), Melinda Gates has also stepped down from the influential joint foundation. She plans to start something new, focusing on supporting women and families, and has earmarked $12.5 billion (around $11.5 billion) for this purpose, she announced.
In interviews, Gates has made it clear that she has no intention of retreating from the public eye, and instead is actively engaged in the current U.S. election campaign, publicly supporting Kamala Harris, who aims to succeed President Joe Biden.
Raised in humble circumstances
Born in 1964 in Dallas, Texas, Melinda Gates grew up in humble circumstances. Her father was an engineer, her mother a housewife, and money was often tight for the family of four. To help out, Gates started cleaning floors and ovens for a small wage as a teenager. "But my parents always stressed that I should go to college," she once told the British "Guardian". She went on to study economics and computer science at the prestigious Duke University and then joined software giant Microsoft.
It was at Microsoft that she met her future husband. "Could we maybe meet next Saturday?" Bill Gates asked her, she recalled in a conversation with U.S. radio station NPR. "I said, 'Well, that's not very spontaneous. Why don't you call me back closer to the date?'"
Inside, I thought, "Wow, who plans their calendar two weeks in advance? Is he trying to pull a fast one?" Her mother thought the date with the boss was "not a good idea" - "but I didn't think we'd get married, and going out with him once couldn't hurt."
Intelligent, elegant, and one of the richest women in the world
The wedding in 1994 was followed by 27 years of marriage, three children, and the creation of the world's largest private foundation, which has donated billions of dollars to fight diseases like AIDS and polio, and to support education and agricultural aid. The former couple has been widely honored for their efforts, and are now also grandparents.
But Melinda Gates never felt comfortable in her husband's shadow. Described as "smart" and "tough" by the British "Telegraph", and "confident" and "elegant to the tips of her hair" by the "Guardian", she carved her own path in the still male-dominated world of billionaires and mega-philanthropists.
She has long held a regular spot on the "Forbes" magazine list of the "most powerful women in the world". Since the divorce, Gates is among the richest women in the world, and like her ex-husband, she has pledged to give away most of her wealth during her lifetime.
Melinda Gates' focus on supporting women and families in her new endeavor is significant, as she has allocated a substantial sum of $12.5 billion for this purpose. Despite the divorce, she remains active in the public sphere, publicly backing Kamala Harris in the U.S. election campaign.
Growing up in humble circumstances, Melinda Gates began earning money by cleaning floors and ovens as a teenager, despite her parents encouraging her to pursue higher education.
