Bill Gates isn’t leaving his children as much of his money as one might think.
The Microsoft cofounder, who shares kids Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22, with ex-wife Melinda French Gates, explained why his next of kin will only inherit a small fraction of his massive fortune as he reflected on how wealthy families pass down their assets.
“Everybody gets to decide on that,” he said on the March 29 episode of the Figuring Out with Raj Shamani podcast. “In my case, my kids got a great upbringing and education but less than one percent of the total wealth.”
While that fraction would still represent a significant windfall—Bill’s net worth is estimated at $108 billion as of 2025, according to Forbes, meaning one percent would be over $1 billion—the 69-year-old reasoned that leaving his children anything more “wouldn’t be a favor to them.”
“It’s not a dynasty,” he continued. “I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had.”
