Melinda Ann French: August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas.
How Bill and Melinda Met:
Bill and Melinda met in 1987 at a Microsoft press event in Manhattan, New York.Source: Time.com
Ages at Wedding:
Bill, 38. Melinda, 29.To insure their privacy for the day of their wedding, Bill rented every hotel room at the hotel (250 rooms) and chartered every helicopter close by.
Bill and Melinda's $1 million, 15-minute, seaside wedding ceremony took place on the 12th tee of the Manele Bay Hotel golf course. William J. Sullivan S.J., Seattle University Chancellor, was the presider of the wedding ceremony and Steve Balllmer was Bill's best man.
Bill wore black slacks and a white dinner jacket. Melinda wore a $10,000 wedding gown designed by Victoria Glenn of Seattle. The white dress was made out of silk-faced organza.
Wedding Location Photos:
Manele Bay Hotel PhotosLanai Photos
Honeymoon:
Part of their honeymoon was spent at the Wakaya Club in Fiji.- Jennifer Katharine Gates: Born in 1996.
- Rory John Gates: Born in 1999.
- Phoebe Adele Gates: Born in 2002.
Planning on leaving his children $10 million each, "Gates has always said that, like Carnegie, he will give away most of his fortune before he dies. He plans to make sure his children are well taken care of but doesn’t want to leave them the burden of tremendous wealth."
Sympatico.ca
Melinda: Former marketing manager at Microsoft and an executive in charge of interactive content. She now works with Bill on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Religion:
Melinda is Catholic. Bill's family was Congregationalist.- Medina, Washington: Bill and Melinda's $125 million, 40,000 square-foot mansion is an earth-sheltered home on Lake Washington with a view of the Olympic Mountains. The home, aside from all its technical aspects, has gardens, an art collection, an indoor pool, library, 30-car garage, trampoline room, reception hall, estuary, and a stocked trout stream.
- Union, Washington: A vacation compound with four homes on the hood Canal's south shore. Nicknamed "Getaway."
- Mustique Island: Bill and Melinda vacation on this exclusive island in the Grenadines.
Quotes:
Bill about his parents' marriage: "In my parents I saw a model where they were really always communicating, doing things together. They were really kind of a team. I wanted some of that magic myself."Source: Daily Celebrations
Bill about his marriage in 1999: "I have a much more balanced life. I think I'm wiser about a lot of things."
Source: Daily Celebrations
Mary Gates, Bill's mother, in a letter to Melinda before she married Bill: “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Source: Gatesfoundation.org - 051020
Melinda about raising their children: "I think it's very important that we instill in our kids that it has nothing to do with their name or their situation that they're growing up in; it has to do with who they are as an individual ... "I think we've got the right set-up for them. They have a lot of close friends... they have a lot of close family. I think we're doing the best we can at providing them with a normal environment."
Source: Komo TV
Melinda about working together: "We set out what's going to be our work time versus our foundation time versus family time, and we'll reassess that ... sometimes every week ... We talk a lot in our home together about where we're going, what I'm doing. I think this is very much a collaborative effort. We come at it from slightly different angles, but that's why it's a natural for us to do it together."
Source: Komo TV
Bill about working together: "Melinda and I work together on deciding what we want the foundation to do. It's fun for us to go on trips together around the world and see what the needs are."
Source: Komo TV
Melinda, about walking together: "Well, something most of our Medina neighbors could tell you is that we're in the habit of taking long, long walks together through our neighborhood. And it's on those long walks that we make many of those decisions."
Source: GatesFoundation.org - 000406
