Bill Gates efforts in 2016, and François Hollande awarded Bill and Melinda in the following year with France's highest national award – the Legion of Honour for their charity efforts. Entomologists named Bill Gates' flower fly, ", in his honor in 1997. Gates married Melinda French on a golf course on the Hawaiian island of Lanai on January 1, 1994; he was 38 and she was 29. They have three children: Jennifer Katharine (b. 1996), Rory John (b. 1999), and Phoebe Adele (b. 2002). Gates' oldest daughter Jennifer is an equestrian rider who competed in the 2018 Longines Global Champions Tour. The
Bill Gates global health, and is working with Rotary International to eliminate polio. Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 28, 1955. He is the son of William H. Gates Sr. (b. 1925) and Mary Maxwell Gates (1929–1994). His ancestry includes English, German, Irish, and Scots-Irish. His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates' maternal grandfather was J.W. Maxwell, a national bank president. Gates has one older sister, Kristi (Kristianne), and a younger sister, Libby. He is the fourth of his name in his family,