NEWSBillionaire Bill Gates Reveals How Much His Kids Will Inherit
Bill Gates revealed how much his kids will inherit from his fortune.
Bill Gates isn't handing out trust funds like candy.
The billionaire tech mogul got real about why his three kids — Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22 — won’t be inheriting the bulk of his fortune.
Bill, who shares his kiddos with ex-wife Melinda French, opened up about his decision during the March 29 episode of the “Figuring Out with Raj Shamani” podcast.
Bill Gates is not leaving his kids a big inheritance.
“Everybody gets to decide on that,” the philanthropist said. “In my case, my kids got a great upbringing and education but less than one percent of the total wealth.”
However, that’s still a serious chunk of change. With his net worth sitting at a staggering $108 billion in 2025, per Forbes, even one percent comes out to over a billion bucks.
Still, the Microsoft co-founder insisted leaving his kids a lot of money wouldn’t do them any favors.
“It’s not a dynasty,” he explained. “I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had.”
The business mogul said his kids will get less than 1 percent of his $108 billion fortune.
He also emphasized the importance of being open about his plans.
“You don't want your kids to ever be confused about your support for them and your love for them,” Bill said. “So I do think explaining, early on, your philosophy that you’re gonna treat them all equally and that you’re gonna give them incredible opportunities, but that the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation.”
Bill, who co-founded The Gates Foundation with Melinda back in 2000, also credits his parenting style to his late father, William Gates Sr., who believed in a concept called “Love and Logic.”
“It was clear [to me] the world was a place that he had under control,” he told CNBC about his dad who had a calming presence — even when things got tense at home.
“He was never panicked,” he recalled. “He never had to show emotion or use emotion against me, even when I was being incredibly obstreperous.”
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Melinda and Bill Gates Gates want their three kids to earn their own money.
Bill also said his mom, Mary Gates, was the driving force behind his ambition.
“It’s something about my relationship with my mom that I really wanted to succeed so much that there wouldn’t even be a question [of her being] disappointed,” the American businessman shared.
“It’s a pretty amazing way that [they] took whatever my natural predilection was and really pushed it forward,” he added.
That same “Love and Logic” approach stuck with him once he and Melinda became parents themselves.
In fact, Bill noted Parenting with Love and Logic is one of his all-time favorite books, even spotlighting it in a 2016 New York Times article.
“It has been an invaluable guide for both of us, especially when it comes to de-escalating those inevitable conflicts between parents and kids,” he wrote.
Melinda Gates and the Microsoft co-founder divorced in 2021.
As for Melinda, who split from Bill in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, she previously shared how they encouraged their children to forge their own paths.
“I just tried to keep them in the real world and point things out to them as much as possible,” she told Elle in March. “We had real discussions about how our family was different, but you shouldn’t think any more of yourself because of that.”
