"I wouldn't put money into it" Melinda French Gates reveals why she refuses to fund daughters startup despite $31 billion net worth

<img src="https://www.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/2024-albie-awards-presented-clooney-101785002_1752044653.jpg">Melinda French Gates has revealed efforts she's making to avoid raising a nepo baby.The ex-wife of Bill Gates and longtime philanthropist, with a net worth of $31 billion, said she refused to fund her daughters startup.I have a daughter who just started a business this year, said French Gates, 60, during a recent talk with tennis legend Billie Jean King during the Power of Womens Sports Summit.She got capitalized, not because of my contacts, not because of me. I wouldnt put money into it.The mom did not name the daughter, but Phoebe Gates, the youngest of her three children with the Microsoft founder, recently launched an AI-powered fashion app called Phia with her Stanford roommate, Sophia Kianni.The platform compares clothing prices across 40,000 sites to help users find the best deals.It is very, very hard to get your business funded if youre a woman, French Gates said. And so you do have to learn a bit how to have the courage to play the game and to stick with it.French Gates has long invested in womens rights philanthropy, previously serving as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for nearly 25 years.However, she said its important that her daughter learns how to fund her startup the hard way.If this is a real business, French Gates said, then others need to be willing to back it, and if not, her daughter will learn to handle rejection.Thats what I told her. Shes growing from this, she added.Phoebe, 22, didnt seem to mind getting no financial support from her mum.We dont want this to be something thats funded by my family we want this to be a real company, Phoebe, 22,told The Post earlier this year.Thats really important for us while I have a ton of privilege coming from my family, its about having a product that stands on its own.Its not the first time the family made it clear that they want their children to carve a name for themselves.Bill Gates has previously said their three children daughter Jennifer, 30, son Rory, 25, and Phoebe would inherit less than 1% of his fortuneafter his death.While French Gates refused to contribute to Phia, and the companys funding remains private, Kris Jenner has publicly said shes backing the platform.The post <a href="http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2025/7/i-wouldnt-put-money-into-it-melinda-french-gates-reveals-why-she-refuses-to-fund-daughters-startup-despite-31-billion-net-worth.html">"I wouldn't put money into it" Melinda French Gates reveals why she refuses to fund daughters startup despite $31 billion net worth</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.lindaikejisblog.com">Linda Ikeji Blog</a>.
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