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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Business
Regyl Jaen

Melinda French Gates Is Worth $34.5B — but Refused to Invest in Her Daughter's Startup: 'I Wouldn't Put Money Into It'

French Gates Melinda French Gates Phoebe Gates Melinda Gates Bill Gates PHIA Billie Jean King
French Gates refused to fund her daughter’s startup, choosing to let her raise capital without her billionaire mother’s money or contacts. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/World Economic Forum)

Melinda French Gates has billions, but when her daughter launched a startup, the billionaire philanthropist chose not to invest. Forbes estimates Gates' fortune at $34.5B. Yet she said she deliberately chose not to invest or use her connections to help her daughter secure funding.

'She got capitalised not because of my contacts, not because of me. I wouldn't put money into it,' Gates said at the Power of Women's Sports Summit in London in June 2025. Her reasoning was that if the business was viable, it should be able to attract outside investors without relying on her connections.

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