Billionaire Melinda French Gates once revealed she refused to fund her Gen Z daughter’s startup—despite being worth over $34 billion

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has said his children will inherit “ less than 1% ” of his wealth when he eventually passes away.

But even while their parents are alive, the Gates children won’t be coasting off the family fortune—and Melinda French Gates is making sure of it, starting with saying no to funding her daughter’s new startup.

Melinda French Gates may be one of the wealthiest women in the world, with an estimated $34.5 billion net worth, but you won’t catch her writing checks for her daughter’s new startup.

In fact, the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Bill Gates explained last year at the Power of Women’s Sports Summit presented by E.l.f.

Beauty that she watched her daughter fundraise from the sidelines, on purpose.

“She got capitalized not because of my contacts, not because of me.

I wouldn’t put money into it,” she said.

Her reasoning? If this is a “real business,” she said, then others need to be willing to back it.

And more important, her daughter should learn how to navigate the sting of rejection if it doesn’t get that funding.

“That’s what I told her,” French Gates added.

“She’s growing from this.” It’s a stance that echoes her and Bill Gates’ long-standing approach to wealth.

The Microsoft cofounder previously revealed their children would inherit “ less than 1% ” of his fortune when he eventually passes away—insisting they make their own way in the world.

And while the 62-year-old mother didn’t reveal which daughter she was referring to, their youngest, Phoebe, launched a fashion-tech startup, Phia, with her Stanford roommate, Sophia Kianni.

The platform compares clothing prices from over 40,000 sites to help users find the best deals.