Think making money like Bill and Melinda Gates is hard? Try parenting like them. After Bill Gates revealed he didn’t invest in his youngest daughter Phoebe Gates’ fashion venture, Phia, her mother Melinda has now said the same. Despite acknowledging that “it is very, very hard to get your business funded if you’re a woman, and so you do have to learn how to play the game and stick with it,” French Gates, whose fortune is estimated at about $31 billion, declined to bankroll her daughter. Instead, the 60-year-old philanthropist believes that standing on her own will teach Phoebe to handle rejection when funding is scarce.
The numbers show why the road is rocky, only 2.3 percent of global venture-capital dollars went to all-female founding teams last year. Had the Gates children already received their inheritance, Phoebe might have relied on the 1 percent share that her father planned to leave to his three children. With Bill Gates’ real-time net worth around $130 billion, that translates to roughly $400 million per heir, but the payout is still far off, so Phoebe must forge ahead on her own merits.
The 22-year-old Stanford graduate is already doing just that. Alongside her former roommate, Sophia Kianni, she is proving her mettle with Phia. Phoebe raised capital independently, $100,000 from Soma Capital, $250,000 from a Stanford social-entrepreneurship grant, and $500,000 in angel investments, for a total of $850,000. Phia set itself up for success by enlisting sustainability pioneer Stella McCartney. “We’re trying to build something that we think will change the future of fashion,” Kianni said.
Gates added, “Stella has built an empire while holding onto her values. We reached out many times, and eventually, she took us under her wing and has advised us ever since.” The dynamic duo appears to be thriving, and Phoebe has clearly absorbed her parents’ grit, gumption, and go-getter attitude.
Melinda may have stepped back as a financier, but with experts like momager Kris Jenner, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, and media veteran Joanne Bradford on board as investors and mentors, Phia has everything it needs to chase a billion-dollar future.
Note – As per the IMF, Dubai and Georgia have a GDP of $130 billion and $30.5 billion, respectively.
