An elite equestrian and daughter of billionaires, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jennifer Gates has done a great job balancing her career as a doctor and also as a class athlete. She actively competed in show jumping events that landed her at the 19th world rank. An evidently proud mother, Melinda once featured her star daughter in her interview series, Talk to Me. 

In the interview on Facebook, the mother-daughter duo met up to reflect on making important life decisions, long before the Gates’ divorce. Melinda shared her wisdom on choosing the right partner and the potential value it holds in one’s life. Here’s how the discussion went about.

Melinda Gates enlightened her daughter with precious advice

As per the social media update, the 58-year-old power icon candidly answered her daughter’s question about determining the right one. “It’s the most important decision you make in your life,” Melinda revealed in 2016. Furthermore, she elucidated a contrast with career being an essential decision. She said, “I think career’s a close second…you can make mistakes and they can even help you build through what you want…”

“Whereas your life partner… if you make a mistake, it’s hard… having a life partner who loves you… respects you… I think those are pretty clearly fundamentals and I think they can get you through a lot,” the philanthropist added. Jennifer, acknowledging her mother’s wealth of wisdom, nodded while Melinda asserted, “Even people think in our society that your career is the most important decision and I would say your life partner’s your most important life decision.”

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Additionally, she stated that “good communication” is key to maintaining a healthy relationship and it goes a long way. The Dallas native trusts Jennifer with her “wise” decisions and was always supportive of her individual ambitions. She also holds immense respect for her 26-year-old daughter as she shines through her athletic and academic endeavors. The Gates family is big on life and moral lessons. This was further iterated by their striking decision to leave their kids a minuscule amount of their fortune. 

Bill Gates’ stern approach toward parenting

Similar to Jackie Chan, even the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates is rooting for his children to make independent life choices. He doesn’t intend to smother them with lush privileges. Likewise, he spoke in a 2017 interview on This Morning. “Well, our kids will receive a great education, and some money… they’ll never be poorly off. They will go out and have their own career,” he said. 

The 67-year-old business tycoon emphasized that youngsters possessing “huge sums of wealth” didn’t seem like a good idea to him. Their daughter, Jennifer is an instance of their ideal parenting. Gates pushed her to pursue medicine while she also thrived in equestrian sports. 

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Another instance of Jenifer’s maturity was shed light on when she dealt with her parents’ divorce and even addressed the media. She politely requested time and space from them while the family sorted out their issues. All in all, Jennifer Gates has it all together.