Bill Gates' daughter Phoebe, 22, sparks outrage with 'rich kid behavior'
Bill Gates ' daughter Phoebe Gates has sparked outrage with her 'rich kid behavior.'
The 22-year-old Stanford University grad - along with former roommate Sophia Kianni - recently launched an e-commerce startup app called Phia.
The platform, which went live on April 24, offers shoppers an easy way to compare the prices of new and used items across more than 40,000 selling sites.
Phoebe is doing it all without the help of her billionaire father who recently revealed that he was 'worried' his youngest daughter would ask for money to start her new venture after cutting her inheritance.
'I thought, "Oh boy, she's going to come and ask,"' the Microsoft founder, 69, told the New York Times.
'And then I would have kept her on a short leash and be doing business reviews, which I would have found tricky, and I probably would have been overly nice but wondered if it was the right thing to do? Luckily, it never happened.'
Instead, Phoebe raised the capital independently, first getting $100,000 from Soma Capital, then $250,000 from the Stanford social entrepreneurship grant, and finally $500,000 in angel investments, bringing the total to $850,000.
But in a TikTok that is beginning to circulate, one content creator shared how she had apparently 'disrespected' him.
The platform, which went live on April 24, offers shoppers an easy way to compare the prices of new and used items across more than 40,000 selling sites
TikTok user Jarrod Jenkins is known for being a luxury deals expert and discusses high-end fashion news and history on his page.
In a video posted on March 12, he claimed that Phoebe's business page reached out asking him to review the product and share his thoughts with his followers - for free.
'Mind you, this is a service that I would charge thousands of dollars for, and she didn't even subscribe to my Substack that's $5 a month, $30 a year,' Jenkins said, showing the message he had received.
In a scathing response, Jenkins replied to the note to explain that had she reached out before the launch of the app, he would have advised her not to go live with the project yet.
He then explained that Phia has some room for improvement, including the fact that it recommends entirely different products or products in a different condition than searched, focuses on the item description instead of the image and doesn't include enough boutiques.
'I actually downloaded the app and it's absolutely worthless,' Jenkins said.
But he reached back out saying that he would serve as an advisor - to which he never received a response.
Users on TikTok and Reddit slammed Gates, saying she was exhibiting typical 'rich kid behavior.'
'Phoebe Gates and her co-founder Sophia aren't trying to sell an actual product - they're trying to sell vibes and "business rizz,"' Jenkins claimed.
He went on to discuss how much publicity the two are getting regardless, including an interview with Kris Jenner, appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, and profile in the New York Times.
'For FREE?????? and her parents are WHO?!!??!??' one TikTok user wrote in response to the claims.
'THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS AND CALLING THEM OUT,' another wrote.
'I'm so tired of privileged kids entering the fashion space and not putting in the work or at least HIRING and PAYING people who will put in the work.'
And the backlash poured onto Reddit too, where someone posted a link to the TikTok under the r/NYCinfluencersnark thread.
Users jumped to call Phoebe out for her stereotypical 'rich kid behavior.'
Others even argued that despite her dad not investing, being the child of Bill Gates means already being set up for success, despite whether you are talented or not.
'Yes but having BILL GATES as your dad sure helps get Kris Jenner's attention, whether he gave her money or not...' one user wrote.
'Rich kids doing rich kid s**t,' another wrote. 'Pathetic.'
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