Latest news with #TheBurnouts'
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Melinda French Gates refuses to fund daughter's startup despite $31 billion net worth
Melinda French Gates doesn't want to raise a nepo baby. The ex-wife of Bill Gates and longtime philanthropist, with a net worth of $31 billion, said she refused to fund her daughter's startup. 'I have a daughter who just started a business this year,' said French Gates, 60, during a recent talk with tennis legend Billie Jean King during the Power of Women's Sports Summit. Advertisement 'She got capitalized, not because of my contacts, not because of me. I wouldn't put money into it.' The mom did not name the daughter, but Phoebe Gates, the youngest of her three children with the Microsoft founder, recently launched an AI-powered fashion app called Phia with her Stanford roommate, Sophia Kianni. The platform compares clothing prices across 40,000 sites to help users find the best deals. Advertisement 'It is very, very hard to get your business funded if you're a woman,' French Gates said. 'And so you do have to learn a bit how to have the courage to play the game and to stick with it.' French Gates has long invested in women's rights philanthropy, previously serving as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for nearly 25 years. 3 Melinda French Gates and Phoebe Gates at the 2024 Albie Awards. FilmMagic However, she said it's important that her daughter learns how to fund her startup the hard way. Advertisement If this is a 'real business,' French Gates said, then others need to be willing to back it – and if not, her daughter will learn to handle rejection. 'That's what I told her. She's growing from this,' she added. Phoebe, 22, didn't seem to mind getting the brush-off from her rich mom, who walked away from her 2021 divorce with an estimated $25 billion settlement. 'We don't want this to be something that's funded by my family – we want this to be a real company,' Phoebe, 22, told The Post earlier this year. Advertisement 'That's really important for us … while I have a ton of privilege coming from my family, it's about having a product that stands on its own.' 3 Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates in New York City. Christopher Peterson / It's not the first time the family made it clear that they want their children to carve a name for themselves. Bill Gates has previously said their three children – daughter Jennifer, 30, son Rory, 25, and Phoebe – would inherit 'less than 1%' of his fortune after his death. While French Gates refused to contribute to Phia, and the company's funding remains private, Kris Jenner has publicly said she's backing the platform. 3 Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni discuss their platform Phia with the New York Post. Brian Zak/NY Post The recent Stanford graduates also launched a podcast in April called 'The Burnouts' on 'Call Her Daddy' founder Alex Cooper's Unwell Network, tracking their early entrepreneurial experiences. Advertisement 'A really critical piece of marketing is this founder-led growth and pulling back the curtain on what it's like to be a founder and to learn,' Phoebe told The Post at the time. The daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates previously interned at British Vogue and has spoken publicly on reproductive rights at several events.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill Gates' Daughter Phoebe Says Boyfriend Arthur Donald ‘Hates' $20 Painting in Her Apartment
The youngest daughter of exes Bill and Melinda Gates, Phoebe Gates, has been happily dating Arthur Donald for nearly two years — but they have one major (and ongoing) disagreement about her apartment decor. In a Thursday, April 24, The New York Times profile, the outlet reported that Phoebe, 22, said that Donald, 26, 'hates' a painting of a pink cassette tape that she previously picked up at a market for $20. According to Phoebe, her boyfriend always 'takes the painting off the wall' and they are now attempting to find a replacement to hang up instead. Phoebe lives in New York City, while Donald is based in California. They have been together since 2023 after meeting through Donald's aunt, Stella McCartney. Arthur is the eldest son of Mary McCartney, Stella's sister and one of the children of Sir Paul McCartney, and her husband, Alistair Donald. (Mary, 55, and Alistair, 59, also share son Eliot, 21.) Famous Families! See Celebrity Kids Who've Dated Other Stars' Children Over the Years In addition to her steady relationship, Phoebe is focused on growing her Phia fashion start-up and 'The Burnouts' podcast without any family connections or influence. 'Growing up, I realized that people are always going to have thoughts about me,' she told The Times. 'If the business is successful, people will say, 'It's because of her family.' And a huge portion of that is true. I never would have been able to go to Stanford, or have such an amazing upbringing or feel the drive to do something, if it wasn't for my parents, but I also feel a huge amount of internalized pressure.' The Hapa Blonde/GC Images Phoebe also clapped back at the notion that her last name was the sole reason Phia got its funding or Alex Cooper signed 'The Burnouts' to her Unwell network. (Phoebe works on both projects with business partner Sophia Kianni.) Are They 'Nepo Babies'? These Celebrity Kids Have Spoken Out About Nepotism 'We're roommates fighting about clothing. We are the girls who are scouring shopping sites for deals,' she quipped to the newspaper. 'And there are, frankly, thousands of other young women like us.' Bill, 69, further noted to The Times that Phoebe is his child who is 'the most different than' he is. (Bill and ex-wife Melinda, 60, also share daughter Jennifer, 29, and son Rory, 25.) 'She's so good with people,' the Microsoft founder explained. 'When we would go on family vacations, we would find some part of the beach to just be off on our own, and Phoebe would go down the beach and meet people and bring them back to introduce them to us.'
CNBC
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Phia co-founders on app launch: An intelligent shopping agent for women who want to shop better
Phia co-founders and 'The Burnouts' co-hosts Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the launch of their digital shopping platform, the inspiration behind the app, the technology behind the app, launch of 'The Burnouts' podcast, and more.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Bill Gates' Daughter Phoebe Launches Podcast Under Alex Cooper's Unwell Network
Phoebe Gates, the 22-year-old daughter of billionaires Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, launched a new podcast aimed at Gen Z female entrepreneurs under The Unwell Network, the media company owned by 'Call Her Daddy' host Alex Cooper. Gates, the youngest of her billionaire parents' three children, hosts 'The Burnouts' with her former Stanford University roommate, Sophia Kianni, who was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Gates and Kianni's podcast will feature guests each week to discuss business advice for Gen Z women, including how to build a startup, pitch investors and navigate workplace dynamics, according to The Unwell Network. The first episode of 'The Burnouts' was released on April 1, with the two discussing Phia, the company the two co-founded that is set to launch as a Google Chrome extension in 2025, which they said will help online shoppers re-sell and find the best value for products. Gates said in a statement the podcast is titled 'The Burnouts' because young people are trying to 'find fulfillment' in an 'ever faster-paced world,' stating there is a 'real burnout factor.' 'The Burnouts' is available on all podcasting platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and episodes are available in video form on YouTube. Gates, 22, is the youngest of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates' three children. Gates attended Stanford University, graduating in 2024 with a bachelor of science in human biology, according to her LinkedIn profile. She describes herself as a reproductive rights advocate on her LinkedIn, which she has advocated for in op-eds, posts on social media and through docuseries she has produced. Gates was recognized by the Reproductive Freedom for All nonprofit as its Rising Reproductive Freedom Champion last year, as the organization praised her for using her platform to advocate for reproductive rights. Gates told the Wall Street Journal last year she planned to give millions to abortion rights groups, citing her disappointment over the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Gates is also active on social media, with 500,000 Instagram followers and 250,000 followers on TikTok, where she often posts pro-abortion rights content. 'The Burnouts' is the latest venture by Cooper's Unwell Network, which she founded in 2023 on the heels of the success of 'Call Her Daddy.' Cooper, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum who placed eighth on Forbes' Top Creators list in 2024, with estimated earnings of $22 million, signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM last year, giving the platform exclusive advertising and distribution rights to 'Call Her Daddy' and other shows produced by The Unwell Network. Other shows under The Unwell Network include 'Hot Mess with Alix Earle' and 'Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy.' Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' ranked as Spotify's second most-popular podcast behind 'The Joe Rogan Experience' last year, to which she attracts high-profile guests, including a highly publicized interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Gates' father, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is worth an estimated $107 billion, making him the 11th richest person in the world, according to Forbes estimates. Melinda French Gates is worth an estimated $30 billion, (No. 57 on the list), according to Forbes estimates. Gates' parents divorced in 2021 and also co-chaired the Gates Foundation together until 2024, when Melinda stepped down. Bill Gates said on the 'Figuring Out With Raj Shamani' podcast earlier this week his three children will inherit less than 1% of his wealth. 'It's not a dynasty, I'm not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success,' Gates said. Inside Alex Cooper's $125 Million Deal To Grow Her Multimedia Empire (Forbes) Forbes Top Creators 2024 (Forbes) Bill Gates says his children will inherit 'less than 1%' of his wealth (Fortune) One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain: User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in: So, how can you be a power user? Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.
