Despite hailing from one of the richest and most successful couples on the planet, Phoebe Gates has avidly stated that she wants to ‘be her own person’ and ‘branch away’ from her parents – billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his ex-wife, philanthropist Melinda Gates – and she’s done just that.
At age 20, the college student and aspiring designer has already achieved a lot: she has made waves in the world of fashion – receiving invites to coveted New York and Paris Fashion Week shows, elite parties, and star-studded events – racked up some celebrity friends along the way, and she even landed an internship at British Vogue.
And while some may argue that she has gotten to where she is thanks to her wealthy background, both Bill and Melinda have continuously insisted that they are working hard to ensure that their kids ‘create their own path.’
In fact, Bill – who has a whopping net worth of $107 billion – has voiced his fears over his kids becoming ‘distorted’ over ‘wealth’ on numerous occasions, and he once vowed to use his immense fortune to ‘help the poor’ rather than his own 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.
While raising their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, the former couple – who split in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage – did their best to give their three kids, Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe, a normal 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood.
They made them do chores and split the household work as evenly as possible, while tech mogul Bill has even admitted that he was a stickler about screen time – and didn’t allow his kids to have phones until they were age 14.
The exes may have tried to raise their kids as modestly as possible, but their living situation was far from humble – the family grew up in a $131 million mansion in Medina, Washington, that came complete with seven bathrooms, 24 bathrooms, and six kitchens, as well as its own man-made beach, at-home movie theater, gym, and trampoline room.
The property, worth an estimated $131 million, is nicknamed ‘Xanadu 2.0,’ a reference to the fictional estate in the movie ‘Citizen Kane.’
Now, it seems as though Phoebe is still living a pretty lavish lifestyle – which is much more glamorous than the average college student.
She often jets off on extravagant trips around the globe – and makes sure to document her endeavors on her Instagram account, where she has gained more than 193,000 followers.
Phoebe has been adamant about wanting to find success on her own, and not because of her parents, but the 20-year-old has followed in her their footsteps in one department – becoming a fierce women’s rights advocate just like her mother.
As she continues to speak out about issues like abortion ban and voters rights, FEMAIL has rounded up everything you need to know about the youngest Gates 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.
From what it was really like to grow up in one of the richest families in the world to the strides she’s made to become a successful fashion designer to her close bond with her parents – here’s an inside look into Phoebe’s luxurious life.
Phoebe was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on September 14, 2002 and she is the youngest of Melinda and Bill’s three kids.
Despite being one of the richest couples in the world, the billionaire parents did their best to give their kids a normal 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood, and were even pretty strict – making them do daily chores, limiting screen time, and not letting them get phones until age 14.
Melinda spoke out making her kids help with household work in her 2019 book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, explaining that it was important to her since cleaning and cooking traditionally falls on women more than men.
She also recalled the moment she decided it was time to divvy up the chores equally to Business Insider in 2019, explaining, ‘One night I realized I was still in the kitchen a good 10, 15 minutes after everybody else doing the last-minute things.
‘Sometimes in the moment my frustration or anger just comes out. So one night we stood up after dinner and people in the family started to melt away, like, off they go upstairs.
‘So hand on my hips, I’m, like, “Nobody leaves the kitchen until I leave the kitchen.”‘
She added that washing dishes together after dinner became a Gates family tradition after that.
Bill – the creator of one of the biggest tech giants on the globe – once revealed that he was a stickler about screen time when his kids were growing up, explaining that he started limiting his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren’s use of electronics after he noticed that one of his daughters had become obsessed with a video game.
He also said he didn’t let his kids get cell phones until they turned 14 and never allowed phone use at the dinner table.
‘We often set a time after which there is no screen time and in their case that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour,’ he explained to Mirror.
‘You’re always looking at how it can be used in a great way – homework and staying in touch with friends – and also where it has gotten to excess.
‘We don’t have cellphones at the table when we are having a meal, we didn’t give our kids cellphones until they were 14 and they complained other kids got them earlier.’
Faith was also a huge part of Phoebe’s 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood, with Bill telling Rolling Stone in 2014, ‘We’ve raised our kids in a religious way. They’ve gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in.’
While chatting to a crowd of Harvard students in 2018, the Microsoft founder revealed that he and his ex-wife used the 1970s ‘Love and Logic’ parenting style while raising their three kids.
‘Parents should provide an atmosphere of love, acceptance, and empathy while allowing the natural consequences of a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥’s behavior and actions to do the teaching,’ MedicineNet.com says of the technique.
‘We want to strike a balance where they have the freedom to do anything, but not a lot of money showered on them so they could go out and do nothing,’ Bill explained.
It was revealed in 2014 that Bill will be leaving most of his fortune – estimated to be around $107 billion – to his family’s foundation, rather than his kids.
‘Our kids will receive a great education and some money so they are never going to be poorly off but they’ll go out and have their own career,’ he explained to This Morning in 2017.
‘It’s not a favor to kids to have them have huge sums of wealth. It distorts anything they might do, creating their own path.
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‘This money is dedicated to helping the poorest. They know that, they are proud of that, they go on trips with us to see the work that’s being done.’
While it seemed as though the family tried to raise their kids as modestly as possible, their living situation was far from humble.
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The family grew up in a $131 million mansion in Medina, Washington, which Bill purchased in 1988 and spent seven years transforming into his dream home.
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The 66,000-square-foot sprawling abode comes with seven bathrooms, 24 bathrooms, and six kitchens, as well as its own artificial stream (stocked with fish), a man-made beach with sand imported from the Caribbean, a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a 200-guest reception hall, a 20-seat movie theater, an at-home gym, and a trampoline room.
Phoebe attended the elite Lakeside High School in Seattle – the same school her father graduated from when he was a teen.
When she was younger, she dreamed of being a professional dancer, and spent time studying at the School of American Ballet at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, as well as the esteemed Juilliard School.
She also had a love of reading from a young age – something that she got from her father.
‘My daughter Phoebe and I love reading all kinds of books,’ he once gushed on Instagram.
