By TOI Tech Desk
Publication Date: 2026-01-02 08:05:00
Melinda French Gates is one of the wealthiest women in America but her path to a $17.4 billion fortune began with an unusual advice from hiring manager at IBM. A hiring manager at the US-based multinational technology company told her to turn down the job, and instead join Microsoft that was relatively new at that time. French Gates interned at IBM for two summers, and was on the verge of accepting a full-time position with the company.
The ‘Dumbfounding’ advice for Melinda French Gates
During the conversation, she told the hiring manager that she had interviewed with a tiny company in Seattle, according to Fortune.“My hiring manager at IBM, a female, said to me, ‘Okay, are you ready to accept the job offer?’ And I said, ‘Well, I have one more company to go interview—this little company, Microsoft. It was tiny,” French Gates said during an interview. “And she said, ‘If they give you an offer, you should take it.’ And it dumbfounded me,” she added.The…
