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Inside the marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates, who met at work, live in a $124 million home, and will leave their children only a small fraction of their fortune

Áine CainNov 8, 2017, 22:11 IST

Scott Olson/Getty Images

• Microsoft founder Bill Gates married Melinda French in 1994.

• They met at Microsoft when Melinda was brought on a product manager - she initially turned down Bill's request for a date at a company picnic.

• Today, they run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of $40.3 billion.

Melinda French was less than impressed when her boss asked her out on a date.

It was 1987, and the recent Duke graduate had just joined Microsoft as a product manager. CEO Bill Gates approached her at a company picnic and inquired if she'd be interested in grabbing dinner in two weeks. Business Insider reported her response was, "That's not spontaneous enough for me."

Flash forward three decades, and Bill and Melinda Gates are married with three kids, worth $89.6 billion, and run a namesake philanthropic enterprise boasting a $40.3 billion endowment.

Here's a look inside their 23-year marriage: