His kids won't get his billions

He is the world's richest man, with a personal fortune of US$76 billion (S$97 billion).

But if Bill Gates' children think they can live the rest of their lives in absolute luxury, they will have to think again.

The Microsoft founder will not be leaving his billions to his three children, he said at this year's Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference in Vancouver, Canada, reported Mail Online.

In a rare insight into his personal life, Mr Gates, 58, and his wife, Melinda, 49, opened up about how they are raising their family. The couple reiterated that their children will be encouraged to make their own way in the world without the help of billion-dollar trust funds.

Good Education

Mr Gates said they have given their two daughters and son a good education, instead of money, so they can learn how to rely on their own abilities rather than their parents' fortune.

Conference organiser Chris Anderson said: "You've easily got enough money despite your vast contributions to the foundation to make them all billionaires."

But according to online tech magazine Wired, Mr Gates responded by saying: "They won't have anything like that. They need to have a sense that their own work is meaningful and important.

"You've got to make sure they have a sense of their own ability and what they're going to go and do."

Mr and Mrs Gates added that their parenting style was inspired by philanthropist and billionaire Warren Buffett, who has taken a similar approach with his children.

Like Mr Buffett, the Gates' have joined the Giving Pledge, which is committed to diverting wealth to philanthropy.

The friends agree that leaving a huge sum to their children was no good for their families or society.

Said Mr Gates: "We want to strike a balance so they have the freedom to do anything, but not sort of a lot of money showered on them so that they can go out and do nothing."

In earlier reports, he said he would leave his children US$10 million each.

Charity

He added that they have told their children that most of the fortune would be left to their charity, which tackles poor health and poverty.

During the TED talks, Mrs Gates also gave details about a trip to Tanzania with her eldest daughter Jen.

She said they stayed with a family in a rural area, which helped them better understand the barriers to education faced by girls in the country.

This year, Mr Gates returned to the top of the Forbes billionaires list for the first time in four years. The 500 richest people are worth US$4.4 trillion.

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