Free Republic

Bill Gates’ “nepo baby” daughter Phoebe Gates, 23, has been accused of “cookie stuffing” at her multibillion-dollar startup, Phia – an illicit practice that comes with a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to reports. Phia – a digital personal shopping assistant co-founded by Gates with fellow Stanford alum Sophia Kianni – reacted with shock in July following reports that it was dropping more web “cookies” than it should, taking undue credit for online sales at retail partners. The company released a statement that it had only learned of the issue “within the last 24 hours,” pledging...

Phoebe Gates wants to build her AI shopping company while keeping one thing out of her pitch deck: her last name. The 23-year-old youngest daughter of billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates recently raised $35 million for Phia, which is now valued at around $185 million. But she’s determined for the venture to stand on its own, with “no ties to my privilege or my last name,” Phoebe Gates told Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast in an episode published Thursday. “I have a chip on my shoulder,” she said, describing her drive to prove she...

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Wednesday that he plans to give his wealth to his foundation. In a Twitter thread that doesn’t allow replies, Gates announced he was transferring $20 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s endowment this month and will increase spending to $9 billion per year by 2026. “As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” Gates wrote. “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.” Gates is currently the fourth-richest person on earth and has a net...