Exes Bill and Melinda Gates reunited in New York City on Thursday evening to celebrate their daughter Phoebe’s 21st birthday at famed Carbone restaurant.
The Microsoft co-founder, 67, and his former wife, 59, called it quits in 2021 after 27 years of marriage amid allegations of infidelity on his part with his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who also believed their relationship was strained was standing .
Bill kept it casual on Thursday with a wool sweater over a white T-shirt and blue chinos with a pair of navy blue sneakers. Meanwhile, Melinda opted for a white flowing dress, with a tote bag, as well as bright pink strappy sandals with high heels and a bag.
Stanford University student Phoebe, who turned heads all week at New York Fashion Week, wore a short pink cocktail dress, kept her hair in a ponytail and exposed brown heels.
Earlier on Thursday, Bill shared a photo of Phoebe on Instagram. ‘Seeing you do great things has never surprised me. I’m so proud of you,” he wrote in a touching tribute to her on her special day.
Stanford University student Phoebe, who turned heads all week at New York Fashion Week, wore a short pink cocktail dress to celebrate her big day
The Microsoft co-founder, 67, and his ex-wife, 59, called it quits in 2021 after 27 years of marriage amid allegations of infidelity on his part
Phoebe is the youngest of three children from Bill and Melinda’s ill-fated marriage
Melinda, meanwhile, shared a FaceTime call she had with her daughter on her birthday, telling her to always keep her friends close and to get to know herself “a lot.”
‘That way you never go wrong in life. Happy 21st birthday. “I’m so proud of you and I love you so much,” she added.
Phoebe’s older sister, Jennifer, 27, joined in, posting some personal photos of the siblings as she said, “I couldn’t be more proud of you as a young woman, entrepreneur, best sister, friend and aunt.” I love you more than I can express, P, and will forever have your back. Now let’s celebrate,” Jennifer wrote in the caption.
Phoebe is the youngest of three children from Bill and Melinda’s ill-fated marriage. She has a net worth of around $10 million, much of which is likely thanks to her wealthy parents.
It’s no surprise that the youngest Gates child is showing up at New York Fashion Week, after several years in the changing world of high fashion and fashion journalism.
In recent years, Phoebe has attended shows and parties during Fashion Weeks in Paris and New York. She also spent a summer interning at British Vogue.
Most recently, Phoebe is launching a sustainable fashion platform with her college roommate called Phia, which she often promotes on her Instagram. She has more than 300,000 followers on the social media platform.
While the product has yet to be precisely defined, the students have already secured coveted partnerships with top designers focused on sustainability, such as Stella McCartney.
Phoebe previously described herself as a ‘reproductive rights activist’ and is studying human biology at school.
Melinda (left) and Phoebe (right) Gates attend the Michael Kors NYFW show in Brooklyn
This week, Phoebe wore a flowing, strapless, brown dress with a huge cutout down the center, putting her midriff on full display for an event
Couple Bill and Melinda Gates are pictured with their three children in a 2018 family photo. The children – Jennifer (center), Rory (right) and Phoebe (left) are now 26, 22 and 19 years old. Bill and Melinda announced their divorce in May after 27 years of marriage
In 2022, Bill admitted during an interview that his meetings with Epstein were a mistake The times. The couple first met in 2011.
“At the time, I didn’t realize that holding these meetings would be seen as a way to give him credibility,” Gates told the London newspaper.
“You’re almost saying, ‘I forgive that kind of behavior,’ or something like that.” As it stands now, I clearly made a big mistake by not understanding that.”
The dinners were a point of contention between the Microsoft billionaire and his now ex-wife and business partner Melinda, who Epstein described as “evil personified.”
In previous interviews, Bill talked about how he eventually stopped meeting with the convicted sex offender after realizing the meetings would not be productive for his philanthropic foundation.
‘I had dinner with him. I regret doing that. He had relationships that he said would benefit public health. There is not nearly enough philanthropy going in that direction,” Bill said in a September 2021 interview.
‘Those meetings were a mistake. They didn’t have the results he claimed, and I cut them off. You know, that was a long time ago,” he countered PBS.
Bill was in New York on Thursday after spending a week at Senator Chuck Schumer’s AI summit in the nation’s capital this week.
Gates says he ‘made a big mistake’ meeting Jeffrey Epstein for fundraising dinners
During the conference, Tesla founder Elon Musk was reportedly ‘about to shake hands with Bill Gates,’ reports the New York Post. This came after rumors that there was some sort of feud between the two tech billionaires.
The beef is a topic in Walter Isaacson’s new book, Elon Musk, which reports that the South African turned down Bill’s invitation to join a group of philanthropist billionaires.
Since their high-stakes divorce, Bill and Melinda are both reportedly dating new partners.
Bill has been spotted several times with Paula Hurd, 60, the former wife of Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd, who passed away in October 2019.
Melinda, who called her divorce from the software billionaire “incredibly painful,” has reportedly been in contact with former Fox reporter Jon Du Pre, 63, since last year.
When they were a couple, the Gates famously said that they would do their best to give their children a normal life, despite the extraordinary circumstances.
Bill previously revealed that he was more interested in educating his children so that they can make something of themselves. He promised to give each of them a small amount of money before passing the rest on to his eponymous foundation.
Gates said: ‘Our children will have a good education and some money, so they will never be bad off, but they will go out and have their own careers.
‘It’s not a favor to children if they have huge amounts of money. It disrupts everything they could be doing, creating their own path.”
The exes may have tried to raise their children as modestly as possible, but their living situation was far from modest: The family grew up in a $131 million mansion in Medina, Washington, which came complete with seven bathrooms, 24 bathrooms and six kitchens. , as well as a private artificial beach, home cinema, gym and trampoline room.
The property, estimated to be worth $131 million, is nicknamed “Xanadu 2.0,” a reference to the fictional estate in the movie “Citizen Kane.”