Bill Gates’ daughter, Jennifer, speaks on her parents’ divorce

Bill Gates’ daughter, Jennifer, speaks on her parents’ divorce

On May 4, 2021

Jennifer Gates, the 25-year-old daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, said the family has been going through “a challenging stretch of time,” after her parents’ shock divorce announcement on Monday.

“I’m still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as my family members at this time and am grateful for the space to do so,” Jennifer wrote on her Instagram story.

The tech heiress — whose Microsoft co-founder dad is worth an estimated $130 billion — is the eldest of the couple’s three children. She has a brother, Rory, 22, and 19-year-old sister Phoebe.

The siblings grew up in Seattle and attended their father’s alma matter, the private Lakeside High School.

Jennifer graduated from Stanford University in 2018 with a degree in human biology. She then took a year off to focus on her equestrian career before going to Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York.

To support her equestrian passion, her billionaire philanthropist parents reportedly shelled out $37 million on a string of properties in horseriding hotspot Wellington, Florida.

As a show jumper, Jennifer competed against other celebrity spawn, including Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve, Michael Bloomberg’s daughter Georgina, Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica, and Steven Spielberg’s daughter Destry.

In January, Jennifer announced that she was engaged to renowned Egyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar, also a Stanford grad.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives learning, growing, laughing, and loving together,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

When she’s not riding or studying medicine, Jennifer spends time jet-setting around the world. Her Instagram account shows off past trips to locales including Germany, Australia and Costa Rica.

The Gateses on Monday announced they would be splitting after 27 years of marriage, saying that “we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”

In her statement, Jennifer wrote that: “It’s been a challenging stretch of time for our whole family.”

“I won’t personally comment further on anything around the separation, but please know that your kind words and support mean the world to me,” she said.

“Thank you for understanding our desire for privacy while we navigate the next phases of our lives.”