Bill Gates isn’t leaving his children as much money as some might expect.
The Microsoft co-founder, who shares kids Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22, with ex-wife Melinda French Gates, is worth an eye-popping $101.2 billion, according to Forbes.
But the tech tycoon’s children will only see a small fraction of his unfathomable fortune.
“I think everybody gets to decide on that,” Gates, 69, said on the “Figuring Out With Raj Shamani” podcast.
“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.”
Still, the Gates kids are set for a hefty payday as 1% of $101.2 billion is still upwards of $1 billion.
“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. You know, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had,” he went on.
“Different families see that differently. I think the people who’ve made fortunes from technology are less dynastic … they’ll even take their capital and give a lot of that away.”
The tech billionaire was then asked on what the “right mindset” is for parents to have when it comes to inheritance.
“You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support and love for them,” Gates said.
“I do think explaining early on your philosophy, that you’re going to treat them all equally and that you’re going to give them incredible opportunities … but the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation.”
“They’ve seen the success of the foundation, they’re very proud,” the father of three added, referring to the Gates Foundation charity he kickstarted in 2000 with Melinda.
Melinda, for her part, recently revealed that she and Bill — from whom she filed for divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage — allowed their kids to choose whether they wanted to keep “Gates” as their last name.
“I just tried to keep them in the real world and point things out to them as much as possible,” she told Elle last month.
“We had real discussions about how our family was different, but you shouldn’t think any more of yourself because of that.”
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