Melinda French Gates on ‘The Next Day,’ New Beginnings, and What Really Matters

Making Space with Hoda Kotb

NBC News

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Society & Culture, Spirituality, Nbc News, Education, Motivation, Nbc, Today Show, Daily Boost, Self-improvement, Hoda, Today, Self Help, Make Space, The Today Show, Making Space, Feel Good, Making Space With Hoda Kotb, Inspiration, Hoda Kotb, Self Improvement

5 • 9.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, business leader, and New York Times bestselling author who has spent decades transforming lives around the world. Melinda opens up to Hoda about why her latest chapter is more personal than ever, how she learned to let go of perfection, and what it means to lead with empathy. She reflects on her lifelong advocacy for women and families, the faith and friendships that have grounded her, and why she believes the smallest acts of kindness can spark the biggest change. Plus, she shares where her focus lies today through her work with Pivotal Ventures.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Imagine having the power to create change in the world every single day.
0:12.6	Well, that's the life Melinda French Gates is living.
0:16.4	Born in Dallas to a middle class family of six, Melinda discovered her love for computers early on,
0:22.0	a passion that launched her into a successful career at Microsoft, where she blazed a trail as one of
0:27.6	the company's few female managers. Her journey led her to co-found one of the most influential
0:34.2	foundations in the world, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. And in 2015,
0:39.0	she launched Pivotal Ventures, an organization devoted to putting more power into the hands of
0:44.5	women in the United States and around the world. Just last year, she announced a bold commitment,
0:50.4	$1 billion annually toward advancing women's power globally.
0:55.9	All the while, Melinda has navigated major life changes moving on from her marriage
1:00.5	and embracing the joy of her grandchildren all while staying laser-focused on giving back.
1:07.1	In our conversation, Melinda opens up about her latest chapter, what impact means to her today
1:12.4	and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. I'm Hoda Kotbe, and this is my podcast, Making Space.
1:23.4	Hi, Melinda. How are you? Hi, Hoda. Last time I spoke to you, we were on book tour,
1:32.3	and I say we, because I felt like I was with you on your book tour. You've had a chance to speak to,
1:37.7	like, a ton of audiences, and I feel like you gain more of a perspective on where women are,
1:43.9	what women want.
1:45.5	What did you learn as you went through your book tour and spoke to all these different audiences?
1:50.4	Yeah, and thanks for showing up in Chicago.
1:52.7	Oh, I loved it.
1:53.4	Brought the energy and the joy.
1:55.1	It was so nice.
	...

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