Melinda Gates's Net Worth Makes Her a Billionaire in Her Own Right

Billionaires are among some of the world's most elite. There are only 2,781 of them, making them some of the rarest people by socioeconomic class. Many of them are famous because they gained their money through tech start-ups or other companies we know and use daily.

And some billionaires, like Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, seem to come as a packaged deal in the media.

The two were married for 27 years before calling it quits in 2021, and now they have divested their lives and interests as much as possible. Bill is known as one of the world's wealthiest men on his own, but Melinda is a billionaire in her own right. Here's what we know about Melinda's net worth now that they've split.

Melinda was born Aug. 15, 1964, in Dallas, Texas. She attended an all girls' Catholic school before graduating from Duke University with degrees in computer science and economics. In 1987, she joined Microsoft's early years in product development and worked her way up to general manager of information products.

Perhaps her most notable accomplishment was serving as the head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world's largest philanthropic organizations.

Forbes estimates that her net worth runs around $30.2 billion, even after she and Bill divorced.

And speaking of that divorce, it took the business world by surprise. Bill and Melinda had long between a united front, working toward their foundation's principles of grant-making and advocacy efforts to eliminate global inequities and increase opportunities for those in need.

Together, they ran programs that provide resources for global agricultural and economic development and medical research, along with pushing public health initiatives both abroad and in the United States.

Increasing access to education in the United States is another goal of the Foundation.

So when Melinda and Bill announced plans to divorce in 2021, many organizations and advocates were worried about what it would mean for their philanthropic efforts. Melinda announced plans to step down from the foundation in 2024 as well, but that doesn't mean their shared vision disintegrated. Luckily, they seem to have split on good terms. Publicly, at least.

The couple shared a statement that reads, “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage." They added that as a couple who has “built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives” they, “continue to share a belief in that mission."

But, they concluded, "We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”

There has been speculation about a number of private reasons for the split, but the couple has not indicated in favor of any of them one way or another. In follow-up interviews, Melinda shared that she had no regrets in her 27-year relationship, explaining, "I gave every single piece of myself to this marriage."

Yet not so much that she couldn't bounce back quickly and thrive on her own. It would seem that even without Bill by her side, Melinda is doing just fine for herself.