Melinda Gates’s independence declaration

Melinda French Gates’s 60th birthday project to share various stories and wisdom is meaningful not just for women but people of all genders and ages.

AHN CHAK-HEEThe author is the head of the global cooperation team at the JoongAng Ilbo. August 15 is Liberation Day in Korea. It also became the day when philanthropist Melinda Gates, one of the wealthiest people in the world, declared her true independence. Born on Aug. 15, 1964, she celebrated her 60th birthday this year and is attempting new projects.

Three years ago, she ended her 27-year marriage to Microsoft founder Bill Gates for a lack of “enough trust” and also withdrew from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation she co-founded in 2000. The foundation is the world’s second largest charity with as many as 1,600 employees managing $75 billion. Instead, she is putting all her passion into Pivotal Ventures, a woman-centered philanthropy she founded in 2015. She also changed her name to Melinda French Gates to include her maiden name and announced a new beginning.

To celebrate her 60th birthday, French Gates unveiled a YouTube interview series titled “Moments That Make Us.” In a comfortable set with a crème-toned sofa, she has candid talks about raising children, friendship and career development. Guests include some of the most celebrated female figures, such as Oprah Winfrey, former first lady Michelle Obama and tennis legend Billie Jean King. One of the questions French Gates asked her guests was how they overcame important turning points in their lives.

Oprah Winfrey said in her interview that if your 50s were when you dealt with countless challenges in life, your 60s are when you come home to “yourself.” Winfrey told French Gates that in her 60s she will be “more powerful, enhanced and elevated than she’s ever been.” Michelle Obama, who is the same age, advised that it is important to have an open mind to make and accept new friends without fear. Of course, she also shared the joy from small things in life, such as making grilled cheese.

Melinda French Gates’s 60th birthday project to share various stories and wisdom is meaningful not just for women but people of all genders and ages. I would like to see and hear such stories from Korean women who work in various fields of our society.