Speaking at the Power of Women's Sports Summit in June, Melinda French Gates, 60, the former wife of billionaire Bill Gates, revealed that one of her children had just started a business, but she decided from the beginning that she would not invest in the project.

"I have a daughter who just started a business this year. She got funded, not through my connections, not through her mother. I'm not putting money in that," the New York Post quoted Melinda French Gates as saying.

She emphasized that raising capital is always a major challenge for female entrepreneurs. "You have to learn to be brave to enter the game and persevere," she explained her decision.

Melinda French Gates (left) and Pheobe Gates. Photo: Variety

Although she didn't name her specifically, it's likely the child Melinda French Gates referred to is Phoebe Gates, 22, her youngest daughter with ex-husband Bill Gates. Earlier this year, Phoebe co-founded Phia, a digital fashion platform that aggregates and compares clothing prices from over 40,000 websites, with her former Stanford classmate Sophia Kianni.

Melinda said she wanted her daughter to experience the difficulties of starting a business firsthand. She believes that "a quality business" will certainly have people willing to invest, and if the startup idea is still superficial, her daughter will learn to accept failure.

"I told her so. She is growing from this experience," the billionaire, one of the richest women in the world with a net worth of 31 billion USD, shared.

In an interview earlier this year with the New York Post, Phoebe Gates shared that neither she nor her partner wanted the company to receive investment from their families.

"We want to build a real company. This is very important to us. Even though I have enjoyed many privileges thanks to my family background, the core thing is that my product has to prove its own value," she affirmed.

Unlike her father, who dropped out of Harvard to found Microsoft, Phoebe affirmed that she has never considered leaving university in her personal development plan.

After graduating from Stanford University in 2024, Phoebe Gates has raised over 500,000 USD from venture capital funds and equity investors.

Billionaire Bill Gates in London, England, in 5/2023. Photo: Reuters

Both Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have repeatedly affirmed their desire for their three children to be independent. Bill Gates has stated that the inheritance for his 30-year-old daughter Jennifer, 25-year-old son Rory, and youngest daughter Phoebe will be less than 1% of his wealth. Forbes magazine estimated Bill Gates's total net worth as of May to be over 115 billion USD.

On NPR's podcast in April, Melinda French Gates shared that both she and her ex-husband Bill Gates recognize that their three children grew up "in crazy rich protection," so they both want to find ways to help their children understand important values in life.

"I want them to understand that they've just been very lucky," she said.

In April, Bill Gates also expressed pride that his youngest daughter Phoebe successfully raised capital for her company without needing his help. In an interview with the NY Times, he revealed that he initially predicted Phoebe would come to him for financial support. He planned to agree to help his daughter, but would set business conditions.

"I had the thought that I would create a tight control loop with her, with frequent business reviews. It's quite a hassle. It's not out of the question that I'd go easy on her. Fortunately, that didn't happen," he said.

Thanh Danh (According to NDTV, Fortune, Business Insider)