Melinda French Gates has picked up nuggets of wisdom and valuable lessons from powerful friends throughout her decades-long work in philanthropy.
The 60-year-old billionaire is an avid learner, and her new memoir, “The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward,” has advice from friends, favorite authors, and her parents sprinkled throughout.
As a leader in global health research and advocate for women’s rights, French Gates is often looked to for her own expertise. Sometimes, she said, it’s the experiences of others that guide her.
These are some pieces of advice she’s kept with her over the years.
Her mother
French Gates’ parents empowered her to seek out a successful career from a young age. Her father made her attend a business course at the age of 12 to learn about goal setting.
Her mother gave her advice that French Gates relayed in her book.
She told her,”‘Set your own agenda or someone else will,'” French Gates wrote in the book. She took her mother’s statement to heart and ran with it.
“It became one of my mantras, especially once I got into global health,” she said during a live interview with Abby Phillip from CNN.
Warren Buffett
“‘You’re working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don’t be so tough on yourself,'” French Gates recalled Buffett saying in an interview.
The Berkshire Hathaway boss is a longtime friend and philanthropic ally of French Gates and her ex-husband Bill Gates. Buffett has seen the couple through their Microsoft days and their 2021 divorce. He has dropped some knowledge over the years, according to French Gates.
Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King
In 2024, French Gates sat down with best friend duo Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King to discuss aging and transitions in honor of her 60th birthday. They connected on the stages of life and female friendship. Their conversation yielded advice that inspired her enough to be included in “The Next Day.”
“Aging is just another word for living,” King said.
Winfrey spoke about an inner voice, or intuition, that might be quietly telling you something you need to know. Listening to it and leaning into the discomfort of the unknown, French Gates said, is a sign of growth.
“Catch it in the whisper,” Winfrey said. “What is it whispering to you now?”
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