Even billionaires are allowed to change their minds. It’s hardly their fault that every comment they make is treated as gospel, with publications waiting on bated breath for something, anything, to run with. A few years ago, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told the Daily Mail that he would be gifting his children $10 million each, reasoning that giving them more wouldn’t do them any favors. That stance has shifted, resulting in his kids getting at least 50 times more.
Gates now plans to leave his children less than 1% of his wealth, believing it’s better for them to find success on their own than to inherit vast fortunes. But here’s the interesting part: 1% of the world’s sixth-richest man, whose net worth is $149 billion according to Bloomberg, still amounts to a staggering $1.49 billion. Even if this is divided equally among his three children, Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe, it works out to nearly $500 million each. That’s quite the leap from the previously declared $10 million inheritance.
Speaking on the Figuring Out with Raj Shamani podcast this week, Gates said, “Everybody gets to decide on that. In my case, my kids got a great upbringing and education, but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favor to them. It’s not a dynasty, I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success.”
He also emphasized that his children are well aware of their parents’ philanthropic values. “You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support for them and your love for them. So I do think explaining early on your philosophy, that you’re going to treat them all equally and give them incredible opportunities, but that the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000, is now one of the world’s largest private foundations, with an endowment of approximately $75.2 billion as of December 2023. Over the years, the Gates children have witnessed their parents dedicate themselves to causes like polio eradication, clean water access, and vaccines for deadly diseases. It seems only fitting that the tech mogul and the founder of Pivotal Ventures would rather fund more solutions than bankroll another superyacht the world doesn’t need. Jennifer Gates, the eldest, is an accomplished equestrian and a recent graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Rory, according to Business Insider, is pursuing a doctorate and may also be involved in policy as a congressional analyst. Phoebe, the youngest, is carving her path as the co-founder of a fashion startup. Though each is flourishing in a different field, all three seem united by a common dedication to giving back, their real inheritance.
They’re not interested in capitalizing on their family name or riding on the coattails of their father’s billions. In fact, in an interview with The New York Times, Melinda Gates recalled, “When our kids were very young, I finally went to Bill and said, ‘Universities come to us, and if we make a large gift, they want to put our name on a building. I don’t think that’s a good idea because our children don’t want to sit in a building with our name on it.’ Thank goodness we did that because one of my kids wouldn’t even consider a university with our name on a building, they want to carve their own path.”
In the end, $500 million may not be the full fortune, but with purpose and values as their true legacy, it’s clear the Gates children inherited far more than wealth.
