Melinda French Gates opens up about new chapter, perimenopause, and building community in Seattle

SEATTLE - Melinda French Gates is used to making headlines, and now she is writing her own.

Sitting down with FOX 13 anchor Sabirah Rayford for the Emmy-nominated series For the Girls: Women on the Rise, the billionaire philanthropist reflected on her monumental personal evolution, massive investments in women’s power and influence, and why she is choosing to double down on Seattle.

"It is a beautiful city, my gosh, to have the mountains and the ocean and lakes," French Gates said. "We are so lucky."

French Gates continues to welcome the many transitions of life. She reflected on this new phase in her life with all three of her adult children living on the East Coast. French Gates told Rayford that her guiding word for 2026 is "build."

Whether it's backing a $56 million privately funded revitalization project for Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks or acquiring a minority ownership stake in the Seattle Kraken, she says her local investments are deeply rooted in fostering connection.

"It is because of Samantha Holloway and her leadership," French Gates said of joining the Kraken's female-led ownership group. "They are about sports being for the community...and it's nice to be part of a female-led team too."

Advancing women’s power and influence

"We all need to help one another be seen and heard," French Gates told Rayford, reflecting on her upbringing in Dallas and her early days as one of Microsoft's few female managers. "I never expected to be in this incredibly privileged situation I'm in."

Putting her money where her passion is, French Gates made a $1 billion pledge in 2019 aimed at expanding women’s power and influence in the U.S. through her social impact company, Pivotal, specifically targeting male-dominated sectors like tech, venture capital, and public office.

Then in 2024, after leaving the Gates Foundation, she announced another $1 billion-dollar wave of funding directed at global and domestic organizations fighting for women’s rights, reproductive freedom, and health.

Reflecting on this monumental $2 billion commitment, Rayford asked, "Two billion dollars in Women's Power and Influence Initiative. How is that going? How do you feel about that?"

"Well, I feel good about the partners that we have selected and that we're in true partnership with them because I believe philanthropy needs to come alongside the people doing the work on the ground," French Gates responded. "I'll give you one example, Open Arms Perinatal Services here in Seattle in Washington. They surround moms both from the beginning of pregnancy through two years of life of that baby. That is so important because women often fall into symptoms of depression along the way or afterwards. And so to have doula support, care, be seen as a mom, just to really be in partnership with that organization just as one of many, feels right for us as an organization."

Challenging the status quo in women's health

Through Pivotal, French Gates has committed $600 million to women’s health—including a recent $215 million push focused solely on perimenopause and midlife care. It's a mission born out of both global statistics and her own lived experience.

During their conversation, Rayford asked French Gates about navigating her own perimenopause journey despite her vast resources.

"I experienced perimenopause symptoms earlier than I expected. I only knew what they were because I had older friends who talked to me about their journey, thank goodness," French Gates shared. "It took me the third doctor to actually get the right care that I needed... If women are experiencing chronic insomnia, it causes you to—you can't hold onto facts. At least in my case, I started to doubt myself, like, can I go to that meeting with that world leader and be on my toes and have the facts at hand and be sharp at my game?"

French Gates pointed out that data from McKinsey & Company shows only five cents of every medical research dollar globally goes toward women's health.

"When women have their full health, they can step into their full power," she noted. "Instead of menopause being something that's neglected and women just need to get through, no, we can create change."

Locally, momentum is shifting. Rayford brought up Washington State’s Executive Order 26-01 signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, which introduced workplace measures like telework options, flexible dress codes, and temperature control for state employees experiencing menopause symptoms.

"I think it's a great start," French Gates responded. "We need great policy around all our health, women or men, for so long we haven't had it for women... Now we ought to do more things, which is have insurance and Medicaid coverage for women's menopause symptoms."

Rayford asked what headline she hopes comes out of her massive investments.

"The headline I hope is that women's health matters at every single stage of their lives," French Gates said. "If we believe in women, we need to invest in them."

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