Bill Gates.Photo:Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty

Bill Gates EEI austin texas 06 12 23

Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty

Bill Gatesdidn’t leave his Instagram followers puzzled about his end-of-year plans.

Gates has been open about his love of puzzles and otherbrain-stimulating activities like Wordle. In a2018 PEOPLE interviewwithBill and Melinda Gates— before they divorced three years later — he said, “We do more jigsaw puzzles than most people.”

The NYE moment took place just days after the Microsoft co-founder reflected on how muchspending time with his children has meant to himthis year.

“It’s been a special joy to watch my children grow up to become invaluable sources of wisdom in their own right,” Gates wrote in hisannual year-end blog post. “One of the highlights of my year was sharing the stage withPhoebe, my youngest, at the foundation’s Goalkeepers event.”

In September, the 21-year-old Stanford University student — who has used her prominent family’s platform to advocate for a variety of issues — attended and moderated a panel at theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation’sGoalkeepers Foundationin New York City.

In the blog post, Gates said that he counts on his children —Jennifer Gates, 27,Rory Gates, 24, and Phoebe — to “keep me up to date on how young people see the world — and on the latest TikTok trends.”

“I’m looking forward to spending the holidays with them and recharging a bit,” he added. “When I was my kids’ age, I didn’t believe in vacations or weekends. But as I got older — and especially since I became a father — I realized there is more to life than work.”

Bill Gates and daughter Phoebe Gates.Michael Loccisano/Getty

Bill Gates and Phoebe Gates

Michael Loccisano/Getty

This year, Gates has also stepped out several times with Paula Hurd, the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, who died in October 2019.

They were spotted out together months before their relationship became public, including sitting next to each other at the Laver Cup in September 2022 and the Australian Open in January 2023.

News of the relationship broke about two years after Gates and ex-wifeMelindaannounced they weredivorcing after 27 years of marriage.

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Jennifer Gates with her daughter and father Bill Gates.Jennifer Gates/Instagram

Jennifer Gates Shares Sweet Photo of Bill Gates on Grandpa Duty Reading to Baby Leila on Fourth of July

Jennifer Gates/Instagram

He went on tocelebrate the joys of grandparenthoodin a post on his Instagram page in honor of Grandparents Day in September. “Becoming a grandparent has given me a whole new lens to see the world through,” he wrote.

“It keeps me motivated to ensure my granddaughter — and all our grandchildren — inherit a better world than they were born into,” the billionaire added.

source: people.com