GiveRate / All records / Forbes 400 (Sept. 2026) / Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates
20%+
Melinda French Gates has given an estimated 20%+ of current net worth ($34.6B), based on Forbes' philanthropy score.
- GiveRate
- 20%+
- Net worth
- $34.6B
- Stated lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Forbes 400
- #30 · Microsoft · Seattle, Washington
- Status
- Source-reported range
- Sources
- Forbes 400 profile · Sept. 2026
The math
Forbes philanthropy score 5 of 5: lifetime giving is 20%+ of current net worth. The range is Forbes' own banding; GiveRate shows it as published.
Profile
- Age
- 62
- Residence
- Seattle, Washington
- Industry
- Technology
- Source of wealth
- Microsoft
- Self-made
- No (inherited or family wealth)
- Role
- Founder, Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation
- One-year change
- $29.0B (#33) in Sept. 2025 to $34.6B (#30) in Sept. 2026, a gain of 19%.
What the range means in dollars
Forbes gives Melinda French Gates a philanthropy score of 5 out of 5, meaning lifetime giving equals 20% or more of current net worth. On a $34.6B fortune, that implies lifetime giving of at least $6.9B. 13 of the 400 share this score, 370 score lower and none score higher.
For scale: 20% or more of a $50,000 household income would be $10,000 or more.
Giving on record
Melinda French Gates is one of the most powerful women in philanthropy.
From the Forbes profile (Sept. 2026).
Others in Technology
- Elon Musk: Under 1% · $908B
- Jeff Bezos: 1–5% · $378B
- Larry Page: Under 1% · $278B
- Michael Dell: 1–5% · $263B
- Sergey Brin: 1–5% · $256B
- Mark Zuckerberg: 1–5% · $212B
Others in Washington
- Steve Ballmer: ≥4.5% · $156B
- Bill Gates: ≥35.5% · $116B
- MacKenzie Scott: 48.6% · $27.9B
- Gabe Newell: Under 1% · $10.2B
- Charles Simonyi: 1–5% · $8.5B
Questions
How much has Melinda French Gates given to charity?
Forbes scores Melinda French Gates 5 of 5 for philanthropy, meaning lifetime giving of 20% or more of net worth, at least $6.9B on a $34.6B fortune.
What is Melinda French Gates' net worth?
Forbes estimates $34.6B as of September 2026, ranking #30 on the Forbes 400.
What is Melinda French Gates' GiveRate?
20%+. GiveRate is lifetime giving as a share of wealth, built from published Forbes figures. See giverate.org/methods/ for the method.
GiveRate is an estimate built only from the published figures above. Wealth and giving totals are themselves estimates. See methods. Spot an error? Request a correction. See all Forbes 400 (Sept. 2026) · Open in the interactive rankings · Calculate your own GiveRate