Melinda Gates Raised Her Kids to Be ‘Middle-Class’–That’s Hard to Do When Your Husband Buys a $16M Graduation Gift

Melinda Gates, ex-wife of Bill Gates, was so worried about her three children being out of touch with reality that she says she raised them to be middle-class in their high society.

While living in an “extraordinarily large house” and navigating the world of billionaires through her role at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda remained concerned that her kids—Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe—might grow up disconnected from everyday realities.

Growing Up Wealthy

In interviews with NPR’s Fresh Air and Business Insider, she shared that the family’s “crazy amount of wealth” posed challenges in keeping her children grounded, prompting her to instill modesty and a strong work ethic despite their privileged surroundings.

To bring balance into their lives, she shares in her new book, “The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward,” the core values she embraced as a child raised in a middle-class family in Dallas, Texas.

For example, her children, who were enrolled in local schools in the Seattle area, were also signed up for community service and did volunteering abroad.

“We went out and saw what life was like for other kids,” she said. “And even in the Seattle community, we would go out and work with the homeless, work in a community shelter, be on the lines where they’re feeding people.”

“And so I tried to ground them in that, ground them with chores, ground them with an allowance,” she said.

In addition to chores and community service Bill Gates said he would not give his fortune to his three children whom at this point are in their mid 20s.

Some critics as reported by the sun pointed out that it is nearly impossible to raise their children as normal, especially since one child, Jennifer, upon graduating college in 2018 received a nearly $16 million gift, a horse farm in New York.

The children also lived in mansions, from their Seattle mansion valued at $130 million to a Florida mansion once owned by Michael Bloomberg and Bruce Springsteen, The Sun reported.

The children are now adults. Phoebe Adele Gates, 22, is an entrepreneur, social activist, and advocate for women’s rights. Jennifer Gates Nassar is 28 and a resident doctor in pediatrics at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Rory John Gates, 25, is reportedly working toward his Ph.D. at the Institute of World Politics.

In May 2024 Melinda stepped down from her role of the Gates Foundation, and in a report from The New York Times, as she was turning 60, she had launched her own women led agenda that at the time supported presidential candidate former V.P. Kamala Harris.

When Melinda and Bill were married, 1994 to 2021, his net worth rose from between $9 million and $10 million to a whopping $130 billion at the time of the divorce filing. Microsoft remains one of the world’s valuable companies.

Melinda became a billionaire immediately after their split, securing around an estimated $25 billion, although the settlement was not disclosed.