How Bill Gates Kept His Wedding To Melinda Private

Bill and Melinda French Gates were married in Hawaii on New Year's Day in 1994. That was the same year that Gates became the richest person in the U.S., surpassing Warren Buffett; Gates' net worth was $9.35 billion that year, according to Forbes. With that kind of money, you're able to have the wedding of your wildest dreams, but you're also going to have to deal with a lot of public interest and the nosy media. Gates was determined to make sure that the big day was kept out of the newspapers, and he went to great lengths to make sure that he and his bride could have a private and beautiful outdoor ceremony away from the paparazzi and other prying eyes.

The wedding was held on the small island of Lānaʻi, which is accessible beyond the 9.5-mile-long 'Au'au Channel from Maui. It's known for being beautiful and uncrowded, but even then, Gates wasn't taking any chances and went to pretty extreme lengths to avoid anyone crashing his nuptials.

Gates reportedly bought out the hotel rooms where they were getting married, not to mention all the campsites and rental cars, to keep the media away from the island, according to Honolulu Magazine. He also booked the helicopters on Maui, so no one could even get a glimpse of the wedding from the air. While Gates' machinations were mostly successful, he couldn't prevent every attempted intrusion.

Bill Gates went so far as to bring his own security team to Lānaʻi for his wedding to Melinda Gates, and they were keeping an eye on any access points for the island. They reportedly even put in a request to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make the area over the island a no-fly zone, though that didn't get approved, according to Honolulu Magazine. Even without the no-fly zone, it was still an ultra-private celebrity wedding. It must have been quite the logistical challenge to keep everything coordinated and as under wraps as possible.

The tight security actually led to a couple of lawsuits. There were a few intrepid reporters who made it to the island, but they were served with a trespass warning. Seattle journalist Scott Rensberger of KIRO-TV was even arrested. He filed a lawsuit over what happened, saying that he'd been on a public road when arrested, and that the arrest was thus a violation of his rights. Rensberger later received a settlement from Gates out of court. Richard Duffy, a reporter for PCWeek at the time (now eWeek), also managed to infiltrate the event and was also picked up by security while on the island. Like Rensberger, he similarly filed a lawsuit regarding the alleged violation of his constitutional rights.

Bill and Melinda's marriage may have started in an idyllic setting that they basically had all to themselves, but as we know, that happiness (and privacy) didn't last. Bill and Melinda got divorced in 2021. While the marriage may not have stood the test of time, in a sign of grace and maturity, Melinda has kept the photos of the big day on her Facebook page, and has shared them over the years on their wedding anniversary.