At 60, Melinda French Gates says she finally stopped worrying about what others think about her — and she’s never felt more confident in herself.
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of “The Jamie Kern Lima Show,” French Gates spoke about how she learned to deal with self-doubt.
Like many women in tech, she once struggled with imposter syndrome for “many, many, many” years — but growing older has shifted her perspective.
“Not very often is the honest truth,” French Gates told podcast host Jamie Kern Lima when asked if she still deals with imposter syndrome.
“I deserve to be where I am in life. Like, I’ve worked really hard to get here, and I know myself. If people don’t like me or they don’t like what I’m saying, I’m kind of at the point in life where I’m like, ‘Take it or leave it,'” French Gates said. “Like if I’m not your cup of tea, that’s OK.”
She added that her self-confidence could be a product of growing older.
“Maybe that comes with being 60,” she said, before recounting something her mother told her years ago.
“I remember when she crossed 60, she said, ‘You know, I just somehow feel very confident going around. You know, I go to pick up the clothes at the cleaners and I tell them how they could be more organized. Or I go to the grocery store, and something’s not quite right at the cash register, and I speak out and tell them what they ought to be doing.’ She goes, ‘I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I just feel comfortable speaking my truth,'” French Gates said, recalling her mother’s words.
“And so maybe that’s sort of the wisdom that comes with 60 — you just get very comfortable in your skin,” French Gates said.
It even applies to her personal appearance. Growing up in Texas, there was a pressure to always look “perfect” — but not anymore, she said.
“And now, like, I’m perfectly comfortable going out — maybe too comfortable — some days with, you know, not having washed my hair for four days, and it’s in a ponytail, and I’m still going to go out and walk to the store, you know? And I am who I am,” French Gates said.
She added that no longer needing external validation felt “so freeing.”
French Gates joined Microsoft as a product manager in 1987, after graduating from Duke University. She worked at the tech company for almost a decade. During her time at Microsoft, she served as project manager of Microsoft Bob, Microsoft Encarta, and Expedia.
Microsoft was also where she met her now ex-husband, Bill Gates, whom she divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. They share three children together.
The former couple did not have a prenuptial agreement and split their property according to a separation contract. Following their split, Gates transferred over $6 billion worth of stock to French Gates.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index today, French Gates’s net worth is about $14.4 billion.
A representative for French Gates did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
