Last Updated on March 17, 2024 by Ben
Melinda French Gates is a successful entrepreneur and a generous philanthropist. She and her ex-husband, Bill Gates, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the World’s most influential philanthropic organizations.
French Gates is a quondam computer scientist who worked for Microsoft from 1987 to 1996 as a marketing manager overseeing the expansion of programs such as Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Encarta.
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After over 30 years together, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce in 2021. French Gates has made eleven appearances on the Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, and she most recently held the fifth-place spot on the 2021 list.
Melinda French Gates’ net worth is still an open topic, though. As a result, we at Sophisticated Investor decided to gather all the information about French Gates that was readily accessible to the general public. Below, we’ve listed the closest estimates of the American entrepreneur and philanthropist’s net worth.
However, it is crucial to remember that all offered data are merely estimations and not always conclusive. We gathered all publicly available assessments to ascertain the likely range of French Gates’ fortune.
What is Melinda French Gates Net Worth?
Melinda French Gates’ net worth is estimated at $6.6 billion US. This sum was described as her “real-time net worth” in a 2022 Forbes profile, so it is probably accurate. According to the divorce documents, Bill Gates transferred Microsoft stock worth $2.4 billion in May 2021, according to a Forbes report.
Melinda French Gates Biography
Melinda French Gates was born in Dallas, Texas, on August 15, 1964. She became interested in computer science in her early adolescence. French Gates earned a computer science and economics degree from Duke University in 1986. She graduated from the esteemed institution’s Fuqua School of Business with her MBA a year later.
Melinda French Gates obtained a position as a marketing manager at Microsoft in 1987. She first met Bill Gates, the then-CEO of Microsoft, at a media gathering for the business in New York City that same year, and they soon started dating. The pair has three kids together and got married in 1994. After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce in May 2021.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. With a $49.9 billion foundation trust endowment, it is now regarded as one of the most prominent philanthropic organizations on the planet. As co-chairs of the Gates Foundation, the former couple has kept their posts.
Melinda French Gates and her then-husband Bill received the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from Barak Obama in 2016 for their prodigious charitable work. In addition, she has been awarded the highest civilian and military distinction in France, the Ordre national de la Légion donner.
How Did Melinda French Gates Build Her Wealth?
The source of Melinda French Gates’ riches is her work at Microsoft throughout her 27-year marriage to Bill Gates, a co-founder of the organization. According to papers, Bill Gates ceded to French Gates equities valued at $5.7 billion as part of the divorce settlement terms in May 2021, along with other unreported assets.
How is Melinda French Gates Net Worth Calculated?
Melinda French Gates’ net worth is determined by deducting her obligations from her assets. She received stock worth billions of dollars, including Microsoft shares, as part of the divorce settlement with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, according to court documents from the 2021 marriage.
Who Else Invests Like Melinda French Gates?
Different investors make investments in various ways. View the following investor profiles to compare other investors to Melinda French Gates:
- MacKenzie Scott
- Daymond Garfield John
- Kendra Scott
- Sara Blakely
- Kevin OLeary
- Anne Wojcicki
- Lori Greiner
Want to Invest Like Melinda French Gates?
The prospect of an average investor amassing an extraordinary fortune comparable to Melinda French Gates is impossible. To create your nest egg, you can still invest prudently but aggressively.
Investment in a tax-advantaged retirement account focusing on alternative assets would be one method to achieve that goal.
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Pros and Cons Melinda French Gates Net Worth
Pros:
- Philanthropy: Melinda French Gates, who has an estimated net worth of $70 billion, has contributed to charitable causes through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This indicates that her wealth is being used well, supporting global efforts to end poverty, educate the next generation, and advance science.
- Business savvy: Melinda French Gates has a distinguished career in technology and spent many years working for Microsoft. She now has a great deal of business knowledge and expertise to apply to her charitable and commercial ventures.
- Melinda French Gates has a lot of influence because she is one of the wealthiest people in the World, and she can therefore influence policy choices and change crucial topics.
Cons:
- Fortune gap: Even though Melinda French Gates utilizes her fortune towards philanthropy, there is still a growing worry about the wealth divide in society. She and her husband’s enormous wealth can be considered a mirror of society’s unfair allocation of wealth.
- Dependency: Due to her vast fortune, there is a chance that some people and organizations will become overly dependent on her funding, creating an unfavorable power dynamic.
- Criticism: Melinda French Gates has occasionally faced criticism for her charitable efforts, with some claiming that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wields excessive influence and power in specific sectors. This argument emphasizes how highly wealthy people could develop into a power that is challenging to examine and hold accountable.
Final Thought -Melinda French Gates Net Worth
In conclusion, Melinda French Gates’ wealth is a monument to her toil and commitment to her commercial operations and charity initiatives. Despite concerns about the future of their foundation after her divorce from Bill Gates, she is in a unique position thanks to her riches and influence to continue advancing global health and eradicating poverty. Her efforts to advance women’s rights and gender equality have also had a long-lasting effect on society.
Melinda French Gates, whose net worth is reported to be over $70 billion, has established herself as a significant player in both the humanitarian and commercial spheres. She is a tremendous inspiration to us all because of her wealth, intellect, and devotion.