Bill and Melinda Gates Reunite for Obligatory Family Celebration (2024)

There’s nothing like celebrating a family milestone to stir up some uncomfortable dynamics and public displays of Evolved Adulthood Where I’m Fine, Really, I’m Great, Oh, Hello, Didn’t Even See You There, How Have Things Been?

This is where billionaire ex-spouses and current coworkersBill Gates andMelinda French Gates found themselves this week, celebrating their daughterJennifer Gates’ graduation from her Master’s program at Columbia University in New York City.

The pairdivorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. They have three children: Jennifer, 27;Rory, who turns 24 this week; andPhoebe, 20. They established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, and said that they plan to work together to run it even post-divorce.

Melinda toldFortune last year that the continued philanthropic work together helped her with the “painful” divorce.

“I kept working with the person I was moving away from, and I needed to show up and be my best self every single day,” she said. “So even though I might be crying at 9 a.m. and then have to be on a video conference at 10 a.m. with the person I’m leaving, I have to show up and be my best.”

Jennifershared a photo of herself beaming with her parents and her husband,Nayel Nassar. It would appear that she’ll follow in her parents’ footsteps of being both very wealthy and committed to public good: Her degree is in Public Health. The graduation ceremony was held this week, but she’ll complete her final practic*ms and officially receive her degree in October, she noted in her caption.

“Thank you @columbiapublichealth for this incredible educational opportunity and the village around me who made this possible. Grateful 🙏✨,” she wrote.

Shortly after their divorce was finalized in August 2021, Bill and Melinda were both present at Jennifer’s October 2021wedding to Nassar, where they walked her down the aisle together. Jennifer had a daughter, the Gateses’ first grandchild, in April.

In a 2022 interview,Bill said he would “marry Melinda all over again.” Meanwhile, around the same time, Melinda described her relationship with Bill as “friendly at this point,” but that “friends is a different word for me.”

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