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Melinda French Gates

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Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates at the World Economic Forum in 2011
Born
Melinda Ann French

(1964-08-15) August 15, 1964 (age 60)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDuke University
Occupation(s)Co-Chair, operator of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Spouse
​
(m. 1994)​
Children3
WebsiteBill and Melinda Gates Foundation Home Page

Melinda French Gates (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964)[1] is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Bill Gates. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former unit manager for several Microsoft products such as Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.

Personal life

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates in June 2009.

Melinda was born in Dallas, Texas. She was the second of four children born to Raymond Joseph French Jr., an engineer, and Elaine Agnes Amerland, a homemaker. She has an older sister and two younger brothers.[2] Gates, a Roman Catholic,[3][4] attended St. Monica Catholic School,[5][6] where she was the top student in her class year. She graduated as valedictorian from Ursuline Academy of Dallas in 1982. Gates earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

Shortly thereafter, she joined Microsoft and participated in the development of many of Microsoft’s multimedia products including Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.[7]

In 1994, she married Bill Gates in a private ceremony held in Lanai, Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, she left Microsoft to focus on starting and raising her family. Her last position was Microsoft’s General Manager of Information Products. Melinda and Bill Gates have three children: daughters Jennifer Katharine Gates (born 1996) and Phoebe Adele Gates (born 2002), and son Rory John Gates (born 1999). The couple reside in a large mansion on Lake Washington.

Melinda served as a member of Duke University's board of trustees from 1996 to 2003.[8] Gates attends Bilderberg Group conferences and holds a seat on the board of directors of the Washington Post company.[9] She retired from the board of Drugstore.com in August 2006 to spend more time working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[10]

As of 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates have donated more than US$24 billion to the Foundation.[11]

Awards and recognition

In December 2005, Melinda and Bill Gates were named by Time as Persons of the Year alongside Bono. Melinda and Bill Gates received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on May 4, 2006 in recognition of their world impact through charitable giving.[12] In November 2006, Melinda and Bill Gates were awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education, particularly in Mexico, and specifically in the program "Un país de lectores".

She was ranked #40 in Forbes 2008 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women,[13] #24 in 2007,[14] and #12 in 2006.[15]

In May 2006, she was honored for her work to improve the lives of children locally and around the world with the naming of the Melinda French Gates Ambulatory Care building[16], at Seattle Children's (then called Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center[17]). She also chaired The Campaign for Children’s, a $300 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to expand facilities, fund undercompensated and uncompensated care and grow the hospital’s research program to find cures and treatments[18].

On June 12, 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates received honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge. Their benefaction of $210 million in 2000 set up the Gates Cambridge Trust, which funds postgraduate scholars from outside the UK to study at the University.

Melinda has also donated over 10 million dollars to her high school Ursuline Academy of Dallas. She is one of the major donors of their Facing the Future Campaign and was honored in their dedication ceremony on May 7, 2010.

References

  1. ^ Texas Births, 1926-1995
  2. ^ "Melinda Gates goes public (pg. 2)". CNN. January 7, 2008.
  3. ^ The Guardian. Melinda Gates: 'I'm a Catholic, but women need access to contraceptives'
  4. ^ The Independent. Catholic Melinda Gates defies the Vatican over birth control funds
  5. ^ Business week, Issues 3649-3652. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 10 March 2011. Raised a Roman Catholic and educated at a girls' Catholic high school, Melinda was encouraged to pursue her love of science
  6. ^ Jeanne M. Lesinski. Bill Gates: Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. Twenty First Century Books. Retrieved 10 March 2011. Melinda, a devout Catholic, wanted a religious wedding.
  7. ^ "Profile: Bill Gates". BBC News. 2004-01-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  8. ^ Gates Joins Trustees
  9. ^ "Biography: Melinda French Gates". The Washington Post Company. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  10. ^ "Officers and Directors". Drugstore.com. 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  11. ^ Melinda Gates on Charlie Rose.com
  12. ^ Jason Cowley (22 May 2006). "Heroes of Our time: The Top 50". New Statesman. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  13. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 2008-08-27.
  14. ^ "#24 Melinda Gates - Forbes.com". Forbes.
  15. ^ "#12 Melinda Gates - Forbes.com". Forbes.
  16. ^ http://www.seattlechildrens.org/media/press-release/2006/05/000796/
  17. ^ http://www.seattlechildrens.org/about/history/name-history/
  18. ^ http://www.seattlechildrens.org/media/press-release/2006/02/000199/
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