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If your dad is Bill Gates, you’re probably not getting a Starbucks gift card for graduating college.
In 2018, Jennifer Gates walked off the Stanford stage and onto a 124-acre, $16.15 million horse farm in North Salem, New York. According to Architectural Digest, the lavish estate was a graduation gift from her billionaire parents—and came complete with rolling pastures, three parcels of land, and proximity to New York City for her future studies.
But in case that sounds too much like the plot of “Succession: Equestrian Edition,” Melinda Gates would like to remind everyone: their kids were absolutely raised “middle class.”
Yes, the Gates kids had an allowance. Yes, they had to make wish lists and wait for birthdays or Christmas. “We absolutely did not just buy them things,” Melinda added. “They either had to buy with their allowance or put it on their wish list, that maybe they’d get it from their grandparents or us.”
That approach extended beyond what showed up under the tree. She said she warned her children not to discuss how they traveled: “You know, you really are not allowed to tell other people how we flew on this trip… otherwise it will separate you from other children.”
Still, the “middle-class” upbringing ran alongside a real estate trail fit for royalty. In 2016, Bill Gates dropped $38 million on properties in Wellington, Florida—also to support Jennifer’s elite equestrian training. The area, known as the winter equestrian capital, has neighbors like Bruce Springsteen. The farm included a mansion, a new 20-stall barn, paddocks, a schooling ring, and enough acreage to host a horse parade.
At the time of the horse farm graduation gift, Jennifer was 22. Now 28, she’s a medical student and married to Olympic show jumper Nayel Nassar, and still active in the equestrian world. But her mom has stayed firm on the message: the wealth didn’t define their values.
“I went to school with some of those kids at Duke University,” Melinda said. “And I vowed to myself that if I ever had resources at my disposal, those were not the kind of children I wanted to raise.”
So yes, Jennifer Gates got a horse farm for graduating—but she also got an allowance and a financial reality check. As far as billionaire parenting goes, that might actually be the middle ground.
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