{"id":"melinda-french-gates","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/melinda-french-gates","language":"en","name":"Melinda French Gates","name_en":"Melinda French Gates","name_ne":"मेलिण्डा गेट्स","description":"American philanthropist","headline":"American philanthropist","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Melinda Ann French Gates (née French; born August 15, 1964) is an American philanthropist. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she attended Duke University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics and an MBA. She joined Microsoft in 1987 as a multimedia product developer. In the same year, she began dating the company's co-founder and then-chief executive Bill Gates, whom she married in 1994 and divorced in 2021. They have three children together.","summary_more":["From 2000 to 2024, she and Gates co-chaired the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization. For their philanthropic endeavors, which focused on global health, development, and education, they received numerous awards and honors, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honour. After French Gates resigned as co-chair in 2024, Gates became sole chair of the renamed Gates Foundation.","As part of her divorce settlement, French Gates received $12.5 billion for independent philanthropy, which she has stated will focus on women and families. She has become a prominent megadonor to the Democratic Party, with a focus on abortion rights, and endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election. In 2025, she published a memoir, The Next Day: Transition, Change and Moving Forward.","Consistently ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world's most powerful women, French Gates was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021. As of February 2026, her net worth is estimated at US$30.4 billion, making her the world's 72nd wealthiest person, according to Forbes."],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"15 August 1964","date":"1964-08-15"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Dallas","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16557"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P19"}},{"key":"citizenship","label":"Citizenship","values":[{"text":"United States","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P27"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"businessperson","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q43845"},{"text":"patron of the arts","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15472169"},{"text":"philanthropist","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12362622"},{"text":"founder","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4479442"},{"text":"entrepreneur","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131524"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P106"}},{"key":"education","label":"Education","values":[{"text":"Duke University","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q168751","end":"1986"},{"text":"Ursuline Academy of Dallas","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7901301","end":"1982"},{"text":"Fuqua School of Business","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2568866","end":"1987"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P69"}},{"key":"spouse","label":"Spouse","values":[{"text":"Bill Gates","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5284","page":"https://diginpl.com/people/bill-gates","start":"1994","end":"2021"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P26"}},{"key":"positions","label":"Positions held","values":[{"text":"project manager","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q816432"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P39"}},{"key":"awards","label":"Awards","values":[{"text":"Jefferson Awards for Public Service","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6175374","date":"2002"},{"text":"Time Person of the Year","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207826","date":"2005-12"},{"text":"honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q41795465","date":"2009-06-12"},{"text":"honorary doctor of the Duke University","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63072345","date":"2013"},{"text":"Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1969175","date":"2013"},{"text":"Padma Bhushan","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q932650"},{"text":"Chatham House Prize","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20266950","date":"2014"},{"text":"Cross of Recognition","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1232376","date":"2009-10-12"},{"text":"Presidential Medal of Freedom","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17144","date":"2016"},{"text":"J. William Fulbright Prize","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6565314","date":"2010"},{"text":"Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q136699","date":"2013"},{"text":"Otto Hahn Peace Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q314209","date":"2016"},{"text":"United Nations Population Award","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25407873","date":"2010"},{"text":"NAS Public Welfare Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4811818","date":"2013"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P166"}},{"key":"x","label":"X (Twitter)","values":[{"text":"melindagates","url":"https://x.com/melindagates"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P2002"}},{"key":"facebook","label":"Facebook","values":[{"text":"melindagates","url":"https://www.facebook.com/melindagates"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P2013"}},{"key":"instagram","label":"Instagram","values":[{"text":"melindafrenchgates","url":"https://www.instagram.com/melindafrenchgates/"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P2003"}},{"key":"youtube","label":"YouTube","values":[{"text":"UCaxvJ1Zu4i0yEebQZHamQrg","url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaxvJ1Zu4i0yEebQZHamQrg"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877#P2397"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[],"cited_from":null,"videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_French_Gates","https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877","https://x.com/melindagates","https://www.facebook.com/melindagates","https://www.instagram.com/melindafrenchgates/","https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaxvJ1Zu4i0yEebQZHamQrg"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Melinda French Gates born?","a":"Melinda French Gates was born on 15 August 1964 in Dallas."},{"q":"What positions has Melinda French Gates held?","a":"Positions held by Melinda French Gates include: project manager."},{"q":"Where did Melinda French Gates study?","a":"Melinda French Gates was educated at Duke University, Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Fuqua School of Business."}],"related":[{"name":"Marc Ferland","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/marc-ferland"},{"name":"Jimmy Wales","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/jimmy-wales"},{"name":"Madonna","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/madonna"},{"name":"Selena Gomez","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/selena-gomez"},{"name":"Beyoncé","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/beyonce"},{"name":"Alexander Graham Bell","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/alexander-graham-bell"},{"name":"Arnold Schwarzenegger","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/arnold-schwarzenegger"},{"name":"Linus Torvalds","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/linus-torvalds"},{"name":"Katy Perry","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/katy-perry"},{"name":"Will Smith","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/will-smith"},{"name":"Oprah Winfrey","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/oprah-winfrey"},{"name":"Al Gore","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/al-gore"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":{"url":"https://diginpl.com/kb-img/melinda-french-gates-ee9035f8aa.jpg","width":500,"height":626,"license":"GODL-India","credit":"Ministry of Women and Child Development","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melinda_Gates_2014.jpg"},"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Melinda French Gates","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_French_Gates","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikipedia (Nepali): मेलिण्डा गेट्स","url":"https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q463877","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q463877","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Image: Melinda Gates 2014.jpg by Ministry of Women and Child Development (GODL-India)","url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melinda_Gates_2014.jpg","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Melinda French Gates, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Melinda Gates 2014.jpg — Ministry of Women and Child Development, GODL-India.","cite":"\"Melinda French Gates\". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/melinda-french-gates. Retrieved 7 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-10-31T09:28:17Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-07","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/melinda-french-gates","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/melinda-french-gates","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/melinda-french-gates?lang=ne"}}