Bill Gates and daughter Phoebe Gates.Photo: Image Press/Shutterstock
Bill Gatesand his daughterPhoebetook a bite of the Big Apple.
The Microsoft co-founder, 66, and the 19-year-old, the youngest of his three children with ex-wifeMelinda French Gates, attended theTIME100 Gala in New York City on Wednesday night. At the event, they hit the red carpet and posed for a number of father-daughter photos.
Phoebe, who is currently a student at Stanford University, was also all smiles as she posed for some solo snaps.
Phoebe Gates.Taylor Hill/WireImage
During theTIME100 Summit, the billionaire philanthropist spoke about thetoll of the COVID-19 pandemic— and how the next pandemic could be “society ending.”
“I have to say, given the toll of this pandemic — 20 million dead globally, a million in the U.S., and it could have been way more fatal. We just got lucky that the death rate per case was like 0.2%,” said Bill.
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Gates went on to estimate that the chances of experiencing another global pandemic in the next 20 years “is over 50%.“However, Gates — whose latest book is calledHow to Prevent the Next Pandemic— still believes that there are ways to prevent that from happening, including the creation of a “Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization” team, which could help run drills to gauge how prepared each country is.
RELATED VIDEO: Melinda French Gates Opens Up About What Led to Divorce from Bill Gates: ‘I Couldn’t Trust What We Had’
The father-daughter outing came three months after Bill issued a public apology to his ex-wife and his family.
After Melinda opened up about her life, including her"painful” divorce, in awide-ranging interviewthat aired onCBS Mornings in March, Bill released a statement saying he “will always be sorryfor the pain that I caused Melinda and our family.”
“I admire Melinda and everything she does to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, and I’m grateful for the work we continue to do together at our foundation,” he added, referring to theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
While promoting his new book last month, Bill said it “was a very tough thing” to hear Melinda, 57, speak about the emotional toll of the past year.
“The divorce is definitely a sad thing. I have responsibility forcausing a lot of pain to my family,” he said while speaking withToday.
“I know divorces are different, but it’s just a complete change. We were partners, we kind of grew up together, and now that’s different,” he said.
Bill noted at a different point in the interview that he feels “good that all of us are moving forward now.”
source: people.com
