But reading and material goods weren’t the only gifts Bill Gates inherited from his mother. In a recent LinkedIn post, the man who once served as the world’s richest man acknowledged the role of Lady Mary Maxwell in his philanthropic career.
“When I was a kid, I was happy to spend all my time reading. My mom always pushed me to do more and I’m glad she did. No matter what we were doing or where I was in my career, she always encouraged me to think of others and give back. He was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met and a huge inspiration for doing good,” Gates wrote on his LinkedIn profile, accompanied by his memory of a photo of him showing up with his mother.
Who was Bill Gates’ mother?
Mary Ann Maxwell was a businesswoman who graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in education in 1950. She was born in Seattle in 1929 in the state of Washington. She married attorney William Gates. From this union Christie, Bill, and Libby were born.
In addition to her role as a mother, Mary Ann Maxwell has also had a role in the business world. By the mid-1970s, she was already a very influential figure in Seattle society, and was the first woman to hold management positions previously reserved for men.
She was the first female director of the First Interstate Bank in the United States and president, as well as the first, of the charitable non-governmental organization United Way of America. He was on the boards of directors of Unigard Security Insurance Group, Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company and US West Communications.
She died in 1994, a victim of breast cancer, the New York Times wrote as part of her obituary “In the right place, at the right time.”
