- Bill Gates confirmed he’s dating philanthropist Paula Hurd following his divorce from Melinda French Gates in 2021.
- Hurd, the widow of late Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, has worked in sales and service leadership roles in her career.
- The Microsoft cofounder also mentioned Paula Hurd in the acknowledgments section of his new book, “Source Code.”
Bill Gates has confirmed he’s seeing someone after his divorce four years ago.
The Microsoft cofounder, who was previously married to Melinda French Gates for 27 years until 2021, said on “The Today Show” on Tuesday that he’s “lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula.”
“We’re having fun, going to the Olympics and lots of great things,” he added.
Gates’ girlfriend, Paula Hurd, was formerly married to the late Mark Hurd, whose career included tenures as the CEO of Oracle and Hewlett-Packard. They share two children and were married for nearly 30 years until Mark’s death in 2019.
Hurd got her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. During her career, she held various sales and services leadership roles at NCR Corporation and, in her final position at the company, was its vice president of services, heading up a team managing global strategic partnerships, according to her bio from Baylor University.
Hurd and her late husband, a Baylor alum, made several notable donations to the university, including leading the funding of its new welcome center, which was named the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center.
“Our family is absolutely thrilled with the Hurd Welcome Center,” Paula Hurd said in a 2023 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “When we made this gift, Mark had a vision for how a welcome experience could transform this corner of campus, and the outcome has by far exceeded our expectations and dreams. I know he would be proud of not only what has been built but the way in which others in the Baylor Family rallied around the Give Light Campaign to generate more than $1.39 billion in gifts to support the University he loved.”
Hurd, who is a member of Baylor’s Board of Regents, is also chairperson of the Universal Tennis Foundation, for which she sponsors annual awards for college players transitioning to professional tennis.
Hurd and Gates share a love of tennis. Gates has played with tennis pros, including Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi, in charity games and previously told Business Insider that his pandemic routine included socially distanced tennis.
Gates and Hurd were publicly spotted together as early as 2022, when they attended the Laver Cup tennis tournament together. They also watched a tennis match at the Australian Open in January 2023. Also that year, Gates accompanied Hurd to a ceremony at Baylor officially opening the university’s new welcome center.
Gates and Hurd made their red carpet debut in April at the 2024 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony. As Gates mentioned in his “Today Show” interview, they attended the 2024 Paris Olympics together as well. Representatives for Gates and Hurd did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Gates also included Hurd in the acknowledgments of his new memoir, “Source Code,” which came out this month.
“Early readers of the manuscript included Paula Hurd, Marc St. John, and Sheila Gulati. The close read from dear and trusted friends provided much-needed thoughtful and insightful feedback at critical stages in the writing,” he wrote.
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