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CELEBRATING LIFE AFTER 50 IN THE PUGET SOUND REGION SINCE 1986
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Prime Time Melinda Gates Surviving a Health Crisis
VOL. 17 NO. 4 MAY 2017
A Philanthropic Life
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elinda Gates has been called one of the most powerful women on the planet, and not only because she is married to the richest man in the world. Her accomplishments, determination, smarts and heart are all her own. Together, Melinda and her husband, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, run the largest charitable foundation in the world—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “It’s absolutely a partnership of equals,” she laughed during a recent interview with Jane Pauley on CBS’s Sunday Morning program. “It’s important to both of us that the world understands that we are running this place together… our joint values being played out in the world,” she said. So far, the foundation that bears their names has given away nearly 40 billion dollars. Growing up, Melinda could not have dreamed about her extraordinary life ahead. Raised in a traditional middle class family, she was born on August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas as Melinda Ann French, the second of four children. Her father managed rental properties on the side to make extra money for the children’s college education. All the kids were expected to help out with the family business. “That meant scrubbing floors and cleaning ovens and mowing the lawns,” recalled Melinda. Her father, an aerospace engineer, and her mother, a stay-at-home mom, believed in the power of education. Her parents encouraged her love of math and computers, even though most girls at that time did not pursue those subjects. Melinda had fallen in love with the family’s Apple computer (Microsoft’s arch enemy), which was used to run the family business. Melinda stayed busy with school and work, but found time to become head of the high school drill team. She was also valedictorian of her class and went on to Duke University, graduating with bachelor’s degrees in computer science and economics. Her fateful decision to move to Seattle for a job at Microsoft was made shortly after she earned her master’s degree in business administration the following year. Although she had a job offer from IBM, a small start-up business had caught
Bill and Melinda Gates’ work to help alleviate poverty and illness around the world was spurred by the people they met on an African safari during their engagement, photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Noted philanthropist Melinda Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world. Courtesy the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
her attention, she told CBS. “I came out Foundation. The new foundation was, and interviewed with Microsoft. And in part, to honor Bill’s late mother, who I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to work at this company. They are changing was noted for her charitable work. During this same time period, Microsoft released the world!’ ” She worked her way up to Windows 95, which revolutionized the general manger of information products personal computer and, at age 39, Bill at Microsoft. “Marrying the CEO wasn’t Gates was named the “Richest Person in part of my life plan!” she said to Pauley. the World” (for the first time). “I met her at a New York City sales Although meeting,” remembers Melinda gave Bill Gates. “And then up her career at it was only a week Microsoft when or so after that that she became I went up to her in a mom, she [Microsoft’s] parking stayed very busy lot and asked if she immersing herself wanted to go out.” in the work of the Melinda’s family foundation. reaction? “When we And the direction met, and Bill is CEO Melinda travels to developing countries and of that work took of Microsoft and I speaks directly to the people the foundation a turn as a result of was, you know, all works to serve. She especially enjoys an African safari of 23, he actually meeting women and children trip Melinda and asked me out for two Bill had taken during their engagement. weeks from Saturday night. And I said, While on that safari, Melinda ‘Two weeks from Saturday night? How was shocked to see the overwhelming could you possibly know what you’re poverty, disease and poor living doing? My schedule doesn’t go out that conditions. “We came back so touched far.’ ” But Melinda found that she enjoyed by the people,” she said. “I grew up in the Catholic church that has a social justice Bill’s sense of humor and was surprised mission. In fact, they used to talk about at how down-to-earth he was. He the cries of the poor. I’ve heard the cries was struck by her forthrightness and of the poor.” Since that first trip, she independence. After dating for seven and Bill have returned to Africa many years, they married in 1994. times, where Melinda visits villages and When Melinda became pregnant speaks personally to the people, especially a year later, she surprised Bill by saying women and children. she planned to be a stay-at-home mom. That first African experience shaped “We didn’t want our children raised by the work of the foundation in years to somebody else,” reported Melinda. She come, which is guided by Melinda’s and told Bill, “You know, if we want them to Bill’s shared belief that all lives have have the values we have, somebody has equal value, and that by giving people to be home.” the tools to lead healthy, productive lives, Within a year of their marriage, they can help them lift themselves out of together will Bill’s father, William H. Gates, the couple founded what was later poverty. They call themselves impatient optimists. to become the Bill & Melinda Gates
The Gates Foundation has made remarkable progress. From working to alleviate poverty, to improving health and education, to empowering family planning around the globe, and improving technology in schools and libraries throughout the United States, the foundation focuses on the ways it can do the most good...to dramatically improve the quality of life for the most people. Melinda’s job is to figure out how to give away billions of dollars. “We go down the chart of the greatest inequities, and give where we can effect the greatest change,” she explained to Forbes magazine. One of the foundation’s primary goals has been to develop disease prevention strategies, vaccines and treatments where they are otherwise unavailable. “We’ve done an incredible job of bringing down the number of deaths of children under the age of five,” Melinda said of the foundation’s work. And last year there were only 37 cases of polio worldwide. “It’s the lowest number of cases we’ve ever had on the planet,” said Melinda of the foundation’s progress against polio. “We think by next year we can drive that number to absolutely zero.” In 2006, when the Gates’ family friend, Warren Buffett, agreed to donate over $30 billion to the foundation, he told Fortune magazine about Melinda: “Bill is smart as hell, obviously...But in terms of seeing the whole picture, she’s smarter.” The couple’s three children, Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe (ages 21 to 14), grew up learning about the foundation’s mission. Melinda and Bill often travel for their work; when possible, Melinda has planned trips around her children’s school breaks so they can all go together as a family. “As they get older, they so continued on page 18