Recently, Melinda French Gates has been spotted developing a new relationship. This week, the 60-year-old billionaire philanthropist was seen holding hands with tech entrepreneur Philip Vaughn during outings in New York City on two separate occasions.
On Wednesday, October 30, French Gates and Vaughn were photographed getting into a car en route to Le Bernardin in Manhattan. They were also seen smiling as they exited a helicopter earlier that day before stepping into a black SUV, as reported by The New York Post.
French Gates spotted with Vaughn, both smiling after exiting a helicopter
French Gates’ representatives have yet to provide any comments on this new development. Vaughn, listed on LinkedIn as the founder and chairman of craft beer delivery service Tavour, has a background that includes working at Microsoft from 1999 to 2008, the company co-founded by French Gates’ ex-husband, Bill Gates.
French Gates and Gates finalized their divorce in August 2021 after announcing their separation in May of that year, following 27 years of marriage and three children together. In their separation statement, they expressed, “We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
In November 2022, reports surfaced about French Gates dating former Fox News correspondent Jon Du Pre. However, less than two years later, in April 2024, a spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that French Gates and Du Pre had ended their relationship and dismissed engagement rumors.
Following this, French Gates resigned from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation but remains active with Pivotal Ventures, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering women. In May, she declared in a New York Times op-ed that she had committed $1 billion to promote women’s rights in the United States.
“In nearly 20 years as an advocate for women and girls, I have learned that there will always be people who say it’s not the right time to talk about gender equality,” she wrote. “The second the global agenda gets crowded, women and girls fall off. It’s frustrating and shortsighted.”
In its statement, Pivotal Ventures highlighted that “with the rollback of women’s rights and headwinds to social progress in the U.S. and around the world, Melinda believes that now is the time to provide urgent capital to people and organizations fighting to protect and further equality and remove the barriers that hold women back.”
Additionally, French Gates is eagerly anticipating the release of her upcoming book, The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward. A press release describes the book as providing a “rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments.”
Reflecting on her recent experiences, she shared with PEOPLE, “Over the last few years, I’ve experienced a lot of change — some of it exciting, some of it painful — so I’ve done a lot of thinking and learning about transitions. I decided to start writing this while I was still in the middle of this season of change, rather than safely on the other side.”
