Melinda Gates, with $30B net worth, has refused to fund daughter's new startup: Here's why
As stated by Fortune, Gates noted that if it's a 'real business,' then external investors ought to be ready to back it. 'She is growing from this,' she remarked, noting that learning to handle rejection is essential for becoming a resilient entrepreneur.
While she did not mention her daughter's name, it is probably Phoebe Gates, who recently co-founded a fashion-tech startup, Phia, alongside her Stanford roommate.
Melinda Gates and Bill Gates value success earned independently
Melinda's position aligns with the beliefs she holds in common with her former spouse, Bill Gates. The Microsoft cofounder stated that his kids will receive 'less than 1%' of his wealth.
Phoebe Gates has mentioned before that her parents wouldn't allow her to leave Stanford to launch a business, despite her father famously abandoning Harvard to create Microsoft.
Phia, the platform she co-created, analyzes prices from more than 40,000 fashion websites to assist users in locating the best bargains.
Female entrepreneurs require determination, not assistance
For Gates, it's not merely about being firm with her daughter - it's about equipping her to endure and succeed in an unjust world.
She stated that securing funding for a business is incredibly challenging 'if you are a woman.'
Tennis icon Billie Jean King, who attended the event with Gates, commended the development that results from challenges. 'I don't think it'll ever fail, she'll get feedback from every situation.'
King stated, 'Turn it inside out by asking yourself, 'What's the feedback I'm getting from this?''
According to Fortune, just 2.3% of worldwide venture capital is allocated to teams led by women. Gates' method may seem harsh, yet it's based on a profound reality: endurance is essential.
Melinda Gates net worth
As of April 2025, Melinda has a net worth of $30.2 billion, according to Forbes.
FAQs
Did Melinda Gates fund her daughter's startup?
No, she believes her daughter should raise funds independently.
How much will Gates' children inherit?
Less than 1% of Bill Gates' wealth.
What is Phoebe Gates' startup about?
It's a fashion-tech platform comparing clothing prices online.
Why is female startup funding hard?
Women face more rejection and less investor support.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
FLUX 1 Kontext & Playground API: The Next Evolution in in‑Context Visual AI.
A Paradigm Shift in Visual‑First Workflows In‑Context Generation: From Prompt to Canvas Variant Line‑Up Tailored for Every Scale Playground API: Instant Hands‑On Creativity Live Events An Asset for Visual Transformation The release of FLUX 1 Kontext reframes what 'generative AI' means for imagery. Rather than layering an editing model on top of a text‑only generator, Black Forest Labs rebuilt the stack around in‑context flow matching. The platform accepts both textual instructions and reference images, allowing users to steer style, composition, and subject identity with surgical precision. This architecture bridges the gap between ideation and delivery, compressing multi‑tool workflows into a single, iterative loop that moves at the speed of diffusion systems excel at first‑pass synthesis but falter when asked to preserve characters, logos, or fine‑grained details across successive edits. FLUX 1 Kontext attacks that weakness head‑on. Every generation step factors in the cumulative context—prompt history, reference images, and prior outputs—so subsequent edits refine rather than overwrite. The result is continuity: brand mascots retain their exact facial geometry, typographic treatments survive color swaps, and product mock‑ups remain pixel‑perfect through countless ships in three calibrated tiers. Kontext [pro] targets real‑time production pipelines; it delivers multi‑turn edits lightning‑fast while locking down character integrity. Kontext [max] pushes resolution, typography fidelity, and hyper‑realistic textures for agencies chasing photo‑grade results. Finally, Kontext [dev]—a 12‑billion‑parameter open‑weight model—drops into private beta for researchers and indie developers, providing self‑hosted experimentation without black‑box constraints. This tiered approach ensures startups prototype cheaply while Fortune 500 studios crank out billboard‑ready new Playground API offers a friction‑free testing arena. A browser‑based console lets users drag‑and‑drop images, type free‑form prompts, and watch outputs appear in seconds—no GPU wrangling, no local installs. Developers can flip seamlessly from playful exploration to production scripting by hitting the same REST endpoints that power the demo. Every call returns JSON metadata—generation seed, safety flags, latency metrics—so engineering teams can wire Kontext into CI pipelines or content‑moderation layers without like DALL‑E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion require separate plug‑ins—or entire rerolls—to tweak outputs. Kontext's flow‑matching backbone treats generation and editing as two sides of the same coin. This means fewer hand‑offs, no round‑tripping, and far less data drift. Add in the Playground's native rate‑limit handling, enterprise‑grade observability, and integrated safety filters, and you have a platform engineered for scale rather than weekend open‑sourcing the dev tier and publishing full model cards, Black Forest Labs signals a commitment to transparency and community‑driven innovation. At the same time, production endpoints layer multiple moderation gates—CSAM, extremism, gore—ensuring enterprises don't trade speed for compliance. Fine‑grained filters can be tuned to organizational risk profiles, and audit logs track every prompt‑output pair for downstream 1 Kontext and the Playground API don't merely iterate on the status quo—they declare a new baseline for visual‑first generative AI . By collapsing generation and editing into one context‑aware engine, slashing inference latency, and baking compliance into every endpoint, Black Forest Labs offers a production‑ready toolkit that converts creative ambition into shippable assets without detours. For organizations intent on owning the next wave of visual storytelling , Kontext isn't optional innovation; it's table stakes for staying competitive in an increasingly image‑driven economy.
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
CAs must possess advanced technical knowledge: Lokesh
Guntur: Minister for Human Resources Development and Information Technology, Nara Lokesh, emphasized that Chartered Accountants (CAs) must possess advanced technical knowledge, global awareness, AI-based communication skills, and ethical integrity. He acknowledged that while the course may be challenging, it prepares youth to reach their highest potential, comparing the difficulty of obtaining a CA degree to the process of making a diamond. He addressed the mega CA student conference 'Sphoorthi,' organised by the ICAI Guntur Chapter at Bandlamudi Gardens in Guntur on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, he mentioned that as part of the Viksit Bharat vision, Prime Minister Modi has set a goal for India to achieve a $30 trillion economy by 2047, with Andhra Pradesh contributing $2.4 trillion to this target. Although he is not a Chartered Accountant himself, Lokesh, a Stanford MBA graduate, expressed his understanding of the importance of this profession. He stated, 'Whenever there's a lack of clarity in business, we turn to our CAs. In governance, no government document requiring budgetary approval can proceed without an auditor's stamp. We trust Chartered Accountants to uphold faith in the system. Every rupee earned and every job created has a CA behind it. Our government values the input of CAs and includes them in policymaking. You don't just certify balance sheets.'
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Bill Gates' wealth to reduce further; Microsoft co-founder and 4 others pledge $1 billion for this AI project
The charitable foundations of Bill Gates and four other billionaires have pledged over $1 billion to fund NextLadder Ventures . This is a new philanthropic initiative that is focused on improving economic mobility through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). This commitment is set to further impact the net worth of the Microsoft co-founder, who recently lost his spot in the top 10 rankings of the Bloomberg Billionaire Index . Apart from Gates ($116.9 billion net worth), the billionaires that are involved in this initiative include Koch Industries founder Charles Koch ($67.5 billion), Microsoft's former CEO Steve Ballmer ($142.5 billion), Intuit founder Scott Cook ($7.7 billion), and hedge fund investor John Overdeck ($7.4 billion). NextLadder Ventures will partner with Google and Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic and support organisations using AI and other emerging technologies to enhance the financial prospects of low-income Americans. Three of these philanthropists, Gates (No. 2), Ballmer (No. 8), and Koch (No. 25), are already ranked among America's top 25 philanthropists by Forbes. Gates, along with his former wife, Melinda French Gates, has previously contributed an estimated $47.7 billion, primarily through the Gates Foundation, for health and poverty alleviation efforts. In 2024, the Gates Foundation reportedly made nearly $200 million in grants through its US Economic Mobility & Opportunity and Women's Economic Empowerment programs. Bill Gates is out of the top 10 richest list This announcement comes after Gates fell out of the top ten on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after a recent recalculation that accounts for his significant charitable donations. His estimated net worth dropped by about $52 billion, which is roughly 30%, bringing it down from over $175 billion to $123 billion. As a result, Gates slipped from fifth to twelfth place. His former assistant and Microsoft CEO successor, Steve Ballmer, has now overtaken him with a net worth of $172 billion, claiming the fifth spot. Gates is currently behind several other tech leaders, including Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and his longtime friend Warren Buffett. Bloomberg noted that the update adjusts asset appreciation assumptions to better reflect Gates' philanthropic contributions and aligns with the wealth figure he shared in a blog post this May. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
