Billionaire Melinda French Gates says she wanted her kids to understand privilege of growing up with ‘crazy’ wealth

Speaking on U.S. National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" podcast, Melinda said her children – Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe Gates – were surrounded by a "crazy amount of wealth" and lived in an "extraordinarily large house" with their father, one of the world’s richest tech moguls, as reported by Business Insider.

Melinda French Gates in Paris in 2023. Photo by AFP

To help prevent entitlement and elitism, she said she drew from the values instilled in her by her middle-class parents. "I wanted them to have deep values. And I wanted them to know they were lucky."

In a separate 2024 interview with The New York Times, she said her approach to parenting closely resembled the way she was raised. Melinda, whose net worth is estimated at US$30.4 billion according to Forbes, emphasized the importance of financial discipline in the household. "A very middle-class household where money did dictate whether I got an extra pair of shoes that year or not," she recalled. "We absolutely did not just buy them things. They either had to buy with their allowance or put it on their wish list, which maybe they'd get from their grandparents or us."

She said she enrolled her children in local schools instead of homeschooling, as she wanted the family to be part of the community. She also ensured the children were exposed to life beyond their privileged environment. "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."

She said her youngest daughter, Phoebe, spent several summers during middle and high school working in Rwanda and living with a local family. The mother of three said exposing her children to the world helped them gain valuable perspective. Seattle, where the family was based, she said, was just a "tiny speck on the map." "And so I tried to ground them in that, ground them with chores, ground them with an allowance," she added, noting she also ensured their hired help shared strong values.

Bill and Melinda finalized their divorce in August 2021 after 27 years of marriage. In June 2024, Melinda stepped down from the Gates Foundation to focus on Pivotal Ventures, a firm she founded to invest in women-led funds and startups. The organization also operates a philanthropic arm aimed at advancing social change and supporting women globally. Consistently ranked among America’s top philanthropists, she and Bill have together donated an estimated US$47.7 billion.