Melinda Gates - Short Biography, Foundation, Personal Life and Quotes

Melinda Gates
born Melinda Ann French, Melinda French Gates
(August 15, 1964, Dallas, Texas, USA)
Nationality: United States of America
Category: Leaders
Occupation: Businessmen,
Unique distinction: Co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gender: Female

Quotes: 1. Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It's what propels societies forward. 2. Philanthropy is not about the money. It's about using whatever resources you have at your fingertips and applying them to improving the world. 3. The premise of this foundation is one life on this planet is no more valuable than the next. 4. All lives have an equal value. 5. But we also believe in taking risks, because that's how you move things along. 6. We have to be careful in how we use this light shined on us. 7. When we invest in women, we invest in a powerful source of global development.

Video: Gates Want Energy

Website: Gatesfoundation

Achievements:

Social and professional position: American philanthropist and businesswoman
The main contribution to (what is known): She is regarded as on of the most famous American philanthropist and Business Leader.
Contributions:

As of 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates have donated more than US$24 billion to the Foundation. And as of 2011 it had an endowment of US$33.5 billion andas of 2012- $37.6 billion.
Gates has also donated over $10 million to her high school, Ursuline Academy of Dallas. She is one of the major donors of their Facing the Future Campaign. In 2012 she pledged $560 million toward improving access to contraception for women in poor countries.
As of 2014, Melinda and Bill Gates have donated $28 billion to the Foundation.
The basic Values of the foundation are: Optimism, Collaboration, Rigor, Innovation and the primary aims are, in the world to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and in America, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology, improve public libraries and support at-risk families.

Honors and Awards: In December 2005, Melinda and Bill Gates were named by Time as Persons of the Year alongside Bono. In 2006 Melinda and Bill Gates received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation and Order of the Aztec Eagle for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education. In May 2006, she was honored for her work to improve the lives of children locally and around the world. She and her husband, Bill Gates, were both awarded the 2010 «J. William Fulbright» Prize for International Understanding. Melinda Gates was ranked list of the 100 Most Powerful Women, #12 in Forbes in 2006, #24 in 2007, #40 2008 and #4 in 2012, #3 in Forbes 2013 and 2014 She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Duke University (2013), Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2013), Padma Bhushan (India, 2015).
Major works: Strategy and Management of of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Life:

Origin: Her Father - Raymond Joseph French, Jr., an aerospace engineer and mother-Elaine Agnes Amerland French a homemaker (from Germany). She is the second of four children and has an older sister and two younger brothers.
Education: Melinda attended St. Monica Catholic School. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and an Master of Business Administration, Duke University Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

Career highlights:

1. In 1987 she joined Microsoft Corp. and distinguished herself in business as a unit manager and leader in the development of Microsoft’s multimedia products.
2. In 1996, Melinda Gates retired from her position as Microsoft’s General Manager of Information Products.
3. She is a former member of the board of trustees of Duke University (1996 to 2003) and is a former co-chair of the Washington State Governor’s Commission on Early Learning.
4. Melinda is Co-founder and co-chair of the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, which was formed in 1994 and renamed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) in 1999.

Personal life:

She was 16 when her father brought home the first Apple III computer.
Spouse - Bill Gates, the Richest Man in the World (Net Worth $89 Billion as of October 0f 2017). They met in 1987 at a Microsoft press event in Manhattan. On 1st of January, 1994, she married Bill Gates in a private ceremony held in Lanai, Hawaii.
Children: Melinda and Bill Gates have three children: daughters Jennifer Katharine Gates (b. 26 April 1996) and Phoebe Adele Gates (b. 2002), and son Rory John Gates (b. 23 May1999).
Residence: Medina, WA, near Seattle.
On May 3, 2021, Melinda and Bill Gates announced their decision to divorce. On August 2, 2021, an official divorce took place after 27 years of marriage. French Gates became a grandmother for the first time in March 2023 when her oldest daughter Jennifer gave birth to a daughter.

Links:

Located in: Businessmen | Leaders

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