How Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos found love: the billionaires behind Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft all made the first move when meeting their future wives
- Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg met future wife Priscilla at a fraternity party – then pretended he was getting kicked out of Harvard University to help score a date
- LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault wooed concert pianist Hélène Mercier by playing the piano for her – and his nerves were the all proof she needed he was real
Billion-dollar businesses to run and endless meetings to attend – the world’s wealthiest might always seem to have a lot on their plate. But as any billionaire will tell you, money won’t keep loneliness at bay, and even the most cloistered individuals have to let down their guard and find time to park their commitments when it comes to looking for someone to spend the rest of their lives with.
So perhaps it’s not so surprising that the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have fascinating meet-cute stories to tell about their equally accomplished wives. Let’s take a look at how some of these uber-richest billionaires crossed paths with their better halves.
Bill and Melinda Gates (1994 – present)
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met his wife Melinda French at a business dinner soon after she was hired as the company’s product manager in 1987. Gates eventually tried to make a play for her – only she turned him down! Apparently, Melinda thought he wasn’t “spontaneous enough”. He then called an hour later and asked if that was spontaneous enough. Fast forward to 1994, and the philanthropic couple secretly wed in Hawaii, going on to have three kids.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan (2012 – present)
As if straight out of a romcom, Mark and Priscilla ran into each other in line for the restroom in 2003. They were at a party hosted by his fraternity at Harvard University. The Facebook CEO made his move by saying he was going to be kicked out soon. Mark did not get expelled, but he did score a date with the future paediatrician! After Priscilla finished med school in 2012, they privately tied the knot in their backyard. This power couple has since had two daughters.