A post shared on Facebook claims Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller’s advisor Frederick Taylor Gates.

Verdict: False

Bill Gates is not Frederick Taylor Gates’ grandson.

Fact Check:

The image shows what appears to be a screen grab of Frederick Taylor Gates’ Wikipedia entry displayed on Google. Green text added to the screen grab claims he is Bill Gates’ grandfather.

Frederick Taylor Gates managed Rockefeller’s charitable activities and was instrumental in the founding of the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation, serving on its board of trustees until 1923, according to The Rockefeller Archive Center. (RELATED: Have Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci, The WHO And Others Been Charged With War Crimes?)

Despite sharing a surname with Frederick Taylor Gates, Bill Gates is not his grandson. Bill Gates’ father and mother were Bill Gates Sr. and Mary Maxwell, who died in 2020 and 1994 respectively, according to NBC News. Bill Gates Sr., also known as William H. Gates II, was born in 1925 to furniture store owners in Washington state, ABC News reported.

Frederick Taylor Gates died in 1929, while his wife Emma Cahoon Gates lived until 1934, The New York Times reported. They had seven children, according to his autobiography “Chapters in My Life,” none of whom were named William or Mary.

An internet search by Check Your Fact found no credible media report of Frederick Taylor Gates being Bill Gates’ grandfather. Bill Gates hasn’t mentioned Frederick Taylor Gates in any entry of his personal blog either.

The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation collaborated in 2006 to create the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an initiative to lessen poverty in the continent through agricultural investment, according to The Rockefeller Foundation’s website.