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Meet the rest of the Gates siblings.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Sep 16, 2020
Sad news for the Gates family. In a blog post on Sept. 15, Bill Gates revealed that his father, Bill Gates Sr., passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by family. “We will miss him more than we can express right now,” he wrote. “We are feeling grief but also gratitude. My dad’s passing was not unexpected — he was 94 years old and his health had been declining — so we have all had a long time to reflect on just how lucky we are to have had this amazing man in our lives for so many years.” Bill Gates Sr. is survived by Bill and his two sisters, Libby and Kristianne Gates. And while Bill Gates is a household name, we’re curious about the other Gates siblings.
Who are Bill Gates’ sisters, Libby Gates and Kristianne Gates?
Bill Gates is one of the most fascinating men in the world, to say the least. But he's not the only interesting person in his family. In fact, his sisters are part of a Netflix special that was released in Sept. 2019 called Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates. So who are Libby and Kristianne Gates — and what role do they play in Bill Gates' life?
Here's what we know about these two wonderful women.
Who is Kristianne Gates?
According to Celebrity Family, Kristianne Gates is older than her more infamous brother, Bill. Like her brother, she was raised in the Protestant tradition in Seattle, Washington. She's married, and now goes by the name Kristianne Blake. She's a CPA that specializes in personal financial planning and tax planning. Before starting her own firm back in 1987, she was a partner at the Deloitte, Haskins & Sells accounting firm. She sits on the board of directors of several companies, including Avista Corporation, Advantage IQ and Laird Norton Tyee.
Who is Libby Gates?
"Libby G. MacPhee has served in governance roles of educational institutions for the past 20 years. She graduated with an MSW from the University of Washington School of Social Work in 2018. She obtained her B.A. in Economics from Pomona College in 1986. Currently, she is the Managing Partner of Seattle Family Support, LLC," reads her official bio on the University of Washington website. Additionally, the site says that she also serves on the board of Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and she currently sits on the board of Seattle Foundation. She's also married and has three adult children.
The Gates family donates regularly to the University of Washington.
"Bill and Mary’s children, Kristianne Blake, Bill Gates III and Libby Gates Armintrout, have made outstanding contributions to the UW and to higher education in the state of Washington. Libby is a board member of the Seattle Schools Fund for Excellence and the UW Carlson Leadership and Public Service Office. She and her husband, Doug, are generous contributors to the UW," reads the official University of Washington website, adding that the Gates family has established the Volunteer Service Award for deserving members of the college community.
Inside Bill's Brain and their role in the new Netflix special
In the limited Netflix series Inside Bill's Brain, we get to see what role Kristianne and Libby Gates played in Bill Gates' life and career and how the Gates family all rallied around Bill and tried to help him as much as they could with getting Microsoft off the ground. In addition to Kristianne and Libby Gates, Melinda Gates (formerly Melinda French) also played a big role in getting Microsoft off the ground.
The Gates family are all philanthropists.
"The Mary Gates Endowment has provided undergraduate scholarships for University of Washington students for 20 years," according to the university’s website. Bill Gates Sr. is co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and "guides the vision and strategic direction of the foundation and serves as an advocate for the foundation’s key issues."
Inside Bill's Brain talks mostly about the Gates' family's philanthropy.
"Given what the series’s title promises, viewers may also be disappointed that so much of Inside Bill’s Brain is about his charity work, not about his life, personality, or beliefs. But that really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone familiar with Guggenheim’s other documentaries," one review said, adding that while we don't hear much about Kristianne and Libby Gates outside of the context of their brother, their insights are well-documented in the new limited series.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.