5 secrets about the marriage of billionaire Bill Gates and his wife

The marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates is considered ideal and iconic. In 1987, Melinda French joined Microsoft as a product manager after graduating from Duke University. A few weeks later, at a company picnic, Melinda had the opportunity to meet CEO Bill Gates. Bill asked her out for dinner but she declined on the grounds that the invitation was "not natural enough".

After 7 years of dating, the two got married and have been happily married for the past 24 years. They have become one of the most powerful and richest couples in the world. Here are 5 interesting facts about the marriage of the famous billionaire couple.

1. They have a "spontaneous" start

Bill and Melinda met at work. Bill was the CEO of Microsoft and Melinda was an employee. During a company picnic, Bill invited Melinda out to dinner. However, Melinda was reportedly not very enthusiastic about her boss's "planned" dating style.

"I didn't know what I was going to do after that. I said, 'This invitation doesn't feel natural enough to me.'"Fortunequoted Mrs. Melinda.

Melinda refused, but gave Bill her phone number and asked him to call her back soon. That same evening, Bill called her. Melinda was attracted by his intelligence and wit. At that time, Melinda's mother thought it was not a good idea for her daughter to date the CEO of the company. Overcoming all obstacles, Bill and Melinda finally got together after many years of dating.

2. They had a lavish wedding

After getting engaged, Bill and his fiancée traveled to Africa in 1993. During the trip, they saw the poverty of the people there. They walked along the beach in Zanzibar and talked. They began talking about how they could use their wealth to help other poor people.

In 1994, the couple got married at the Manele Bay Hotel in Hawaii at a cost of $1 million. Bill reportedly booked the entire hotel with a helicopter on the island of Maui to "keep out unwanted guests" and media curiosity.

3. They are peers

In an interview with the newspaperFortune, billionaire Warren Buffett revealed many interesting things about Bill Gates' marriage and his relationship with this family. Mr. Warren said that both Bill and his wife are intelligent people, but in terms of the ability to see the big picture, Mrs. Melinda is "above" her husband.

4. They are a power couple

Bill and Melinda are teammates in every way, both personally and professionally. They have three children and a combined net worth of $89.6 billion. They also run the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.

"Melinda and I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy and prosperous life. So, with the help of our incredible partners, we are working to find innovative ways to help the world's poor," Bill said.

For their efforts to help this community, in 2016, Mr. Bill Gates and his wife were awarded the Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama.

5. They leave very little wealth to their children.

While most billionaires leave their entire fortune to their children, Bill and Melinda Gates think differently. They left each of their three children only $10 million, a tiny fraction of their $89.6 billion fortune. The rest they give to charity.

They don't want their children to grow up with a lot of money and do nothing. They also want them to be humble and religious. The three billionaire children are not allowed to have cell phones until they are 14 years old.