Unlike the low-key older siblings,
She took the Internet celebrity route.
Author: Yin Jie
There are many girls named Phoebe in United States, and the most famous in China used to be the "cute silly big sister" Phoebe in the American drama "Friends", and now, another Phoebe's popularity is catching up, she is Bill ·Gates' youngest daughter - Phoebe · Gates.
Recently, Phoebe can be described as a good thing: first she graduated from Stanford University, and at the same time, she posted a photo on social media and officially announced her new relationship: "My boyfriend Arthur gave me a ride after the graduation ceremony. ”
As soon as the photo came out, netizens immediately recognized the male protagonist - yo, isn't this Paul · McCartney's grandson?
"A strong combination"
Speaking of European and American pop culture icons in the 60s, the Beatles' name is always put together with Elvis Presley and Marilyn · Monroe.
Among the four members of the band, John · Lennon is the most famous, and Paul · McCartney's influence is a close second, fans always compare the two together, and the war of words caused by questions such as "who is the soul of the Beatles" has lasted for more than half a century.
McCartney of youth and old age.
The 82-year-old McCartney has been married three times and has five children, of which the second daughter Mary · McCartney is also a well-known figure in the European and American literary circles, a photographer, filmmaker, writer, and host. She married a television producer and gave birth to her son, Arthur · Donald, Phoebe's current boyfriend.
According to media disclosures, Arthur is 25 years old this year, the eldest son in the family, and after his parents divorced, he lived with his mother. In 2021, he graduated from Yale University with a major in History.
Arthur (right) looks a lot like his maternal grandfather (left) when he was younger.
In contrast, Phoebe's family background is well known.
The most famous figure in her family is naturally her father, Bill ·, the founder of Microsoft and the former richest man in the world. Although her mother, Melinda, divorced Bill 3 years ago, it doesn't seem to have had much impact on her children's lives.
Phoebe's sister, 28-year-old Jennifer, is married and has a baby, and recently announced that she is pregnant with her second child, and has also completed her medical doctorate.
Phoebe's older brother, Rory, who has just turned 25, has been very low-key, first earning degrees in computer software engineering and economics from Duke University, then going to the University of Chicago Law School, graduating in 2022 with his sister and sister present.
Rory with his sister Jennifer (left) and sister Phoebe.
As the youngest child in the family, Phoebe was born in 2002, academically, she also graduated from a prestigious school, but in her personal life, it is a completely different style of painting.
The road to influencers
Compared with her sister and brother, Phoebe is so high-profile that she seems to be ready to make her debut at any time.
As an adult, she always appeared in the spotlight in a flamboyant outfit. When attending events with her dad, she looks like a Hollywood star.
Phoebe attends the event with her father.
On social media, Phoebe is quite active, and the videos she posts basically revolve around "my makeup today", "what I wore today", "where did I go today", much like a fashion beauty blogger.
Phoebe's profile photo on social media.
Of course, she also has a traffic password, which is her richest father. As long as Bill · Gates-related content is posted, the number of hits is at least dozens of times that of her personal video. And my dad is really cooperative, let me shoot a video, let me take a group photo.
Phoebe's video of Bill · posted online.
In addition to her daily life, Phoebe doesn't mind going public about her romance either. So far, she has officially announced 3 boyfriends.
The first was a white young man named Chaz · Flynn. According to United States media, Flynn is a native of Seattle and is a middle school classmate with Phoebe, but two years older than her.
The two have been dating since 2019, and Phoebe has shared many photos online, and even took Flynn to meet her parents. But for unknown reasons, they broke up a few years later.
The second boyfriend was Phoebe's classmate Robert · at Stanford. This is a good black guy who has been competing in math since high school and later majoring in computer science and artificial intelligence at Stanford. He is also very talented in music, having worked with famous singers and bands.
Phoebe and Rose.
However, when Phoebe made her relationship public online last year, it was met with a lot of opposition and skepticism. Many European and American netizens attacked Ross from a racial perspective, believing that he was using Phoebe for the wealth and status of the Gates family.
In response, Phoebe posted more group photos online and said in an interview: "It's 2023 now, and I'm fed up with being teased for being in interracial love." ”
However, in September of the same year, when Phoebe celebrated her 21st birthday, netizens found that Rose was no longer in the birthday crowd, and the previous intimate photos were gone. In October, Phoebe posted a photo of her trip to Paris with Arthur, but without any explanation, and the outside world can only speculate. It wasn't until a recent graduation photo that she officially referred to Arthur as her "boyfriend."
Phoebe and Arthur in Paris.
American "Heritage"
Regarding Phoebe's relationship with Arthur, it is necessary to start from the previous generation.
Bill · Gates' social circle is very strong, not to mention the scientific and technological world, politics, economics, culture, education, medical ...... All have his network, including Arthur's maternal grandfather McCartney.
United Kingdom media revealed that Bill · Gates "has been a friend of Sir Paul (McCartney) since the beginning of this century." Gates is said to have loved McCartney's music, even calling him "the Bach of this era".
In 2006, McCartney's divorce battle with his second wife, Heather · Mills, broke the news: United Kingdom excerpt from the Daily Mail published an excerpt of a legal document purportedly submitted by Mills, which alleged that McCartney had a bad record of wife abuse and drug abuse. McCartney vehemently denied it.
The divorce lawsuit lasted two years and ended with McCartney paying his ex-wife a huge amount of alimony. United Kingdom media said that in this process, Bill · Gates gave McCartney a lot of support. As a result, the friendship between the two was further deepened.
Another layer of relationship comes from the matrilineal line. Phoebe's mother, Melinda, and Arthur's aunt, Stella · McCartney, have also been friends for many years. Phoebe once recalled: "Even when I was a kid, she (Stella) would send me things and little notes, and I was very excited. I kept asking my mom if I could see her. ”
Stella is a fashion designer and has her own fashion brand, which shows that Phoebe has been interested in the fashion industry since she was a child. Growing up, Phoebe was invited to Stella's fashion show and sat in the front row.
In August 2023, Phoebe announced that she would partner with her classmates to start a business and launch a digital fashion platform, the first product on which is a women's bag co-branded with the Stella brand.
Phoebe (right) and Stella.
In addition to the material cooperation, Phoebe also has a spiritual empathy for Stella. She said she felt close to Stella because she was "able to use the platform she has."
"Because of her father, she jumped at the chance, not to say, 'People define me by this,' but to say, 'Okay, I have this huge privilege, and now I'm going to use it for something'. She chose to take advantage of this and launch a fully sustainable brand. Phoebe said.
Based on this, many netizens speculated that Phoebe's relationship with Arthur may have been brokered by this aunt.
Phoebe and Arthur.
For Phoebe's future, many netizens said they were not optimistic, and one of the more representative messages was: "Her talent is actually very average, if it were not for Bill · Gates's daughter, she would not be able to easily obtain fashion resources." ”
Geniuses are in the minority, after all. As a child, Phoebe was interested in ballet and music, and studied at the prestigious Juilliard School and the United States Ballet School in middle school, but the results only proved that she had mediocre qualifications and could not follow a career path.
Including her ability to study at Stanford, she also has an inseparable relationship with her family.
United States prestigious schools will consider the applicant's family background, especially the alumni relationship, in the admission process, which is known as "legacy admission", that is, if the applicant's family members have alumni, it may provide the applicant with certain advantages
In recent years, this practice has been increasingly criticized for exacerbating the unfair appropriation of educational resources by the privileged, but it is still being practiced by elite schools in the United StatesHarvard's survey shows that the higher the percentage of Harvard alumni among its applicants' relatives, the easier it is for applicants to be admittedThe same phenomenon exists at Yale University and other Ivy League schools.
Phoebe's maternal grandfather was a Stanford graduate, her sister was a Stanford graduate, and her mother, Melinda, was a guest speaker at the Stanford graduation ceremony. In addition, Phoebe's older brother, Rory, attended Duke University as an undergraduate, which is also Melinda's alma mater.
Melinda speaks at the Stanford commencement ceremony.
This "inheritance" obviously outweighs the disadvantages for Phoebe, but she occasionally feels a little helpless. Regarding the identity of "Bill ·'s daughter", she said: "I want to have my own identity, I want to be completely myself, but how can I get rid of it?" ”
Producer: Zhang Pei
Editor: Ling Yun
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