Paula Hurd: Bill Gates’ Girlfriend, Her Impressive Net Worth, and Spotlight at the Ambani Event

Mukesh Ambani doesn’t just flex in boardrooms – his parties have everyone’s notifications pinging for days. Case in point: Anant and Radhika’s pre-wedding bash, which turned Gujarat into tech’s hottest fashion week. The guest list? Pure Silicon Valley meets Bollywood royalty. Zuck himself, fresh off his Asia tour, ditched the metaverse for traditional threads, turning heads with Priscilla Chan in full desi mode.

Then there’s Bill Gates with Paula Hurd – cue the double-takes from guests playing ‘spot the difference’ with memories of Melinda. But these two? Old news on the high-society circuit, just making their most photographed appearance yet at the Ambani extravaganza.

A Love Story in the Billionaire Circle

So, Gates and Hurd have been doing their post-divorce tango since August ’21 – right after the Microsoft mogul and Melinda called it quits. Word on the tech street (circa February ’23) was that while Hurd had mastered the art of dating a billionaire, she hadn’t cracked the final level: meeting the Gates kids.

Bill Gates has been dating Paula Hurd, the widow of late Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd, for more than a year, @PageSix reports. pic.twitter.com/HmRCpTGrJ1

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 8, 2023

Before they went official, these two were basically playing Where’s Waldo at the fancy sports circuit. Spotted courtside at the Australian Open, then living their best tennis life at Laver Cup. Classic billionaire dating 101, right? Gates even went full transparency mode with the BBC, dropping the bombshell that – shocker – he wasn’t planning on running Windows Single Edition forever.

Who is Paula Hurd? A Tech Pioneer and Philanthropy Enthusiast

Talk about a Silicon Valley power player – Paula Hurd cut her teeth in tech way before it was cool. Class of ’84 at UT Austin (hook ’em!), she jumped straight into the digital trenches at NCR when most folks were still figuring out what a computer was. And being the better half of Oracle’s head honcho Mark Hurd for three decades? That’s like having a front-row seat to tech’s golden age.

After mastering the sales game, she pulled the ultimate career pivot – turning corporate shindigs and charity galas into her playground. And speaking of legacy moves, the Hurds’ love for Baylor runs deeper than a database query – their welcome center just dropped in ’23. She’s still rocking the philanthropy scene while raising two daughters, Kathryn and Kelly, proving you can have your tech cake and eat it too.

Are Bill Gates and Paula Hurd engaged?

Classic internet detective moment – July ’23 had the rumor mill working overtime when eagle-eyed observers spotted some bling on Paula’s finger. Cue the engagement conspiracy theories faster than a viral TikTok. But Gates’ PR squad swooped in with the digital equivalent of ‘Control+Alt+Delete’ on that narrative – turns out the ring was just part of Paula’s long-standing jewelry rotation, no Windows upgrade to relationship status required.

The Beginnings of Their Relationship

Turns out the tennis matchmaker struck at Indian Wells 2021—though Gates and Hurd played it classic corporate, doing the whole ‘separate seats, we just happen to be at the same Masters 1000’ dance. Talk about serving an ace in plain sight. Both court rats (Gates famously hit with Fed during the philanthropy circuit, while Hurd’s been a regular at the La Costa club scene), they dropped the pretense by the time Federer’s swan song rolled around at O2. Fast forward through the holiday hangover, and there they were Down Under, watching Rybakina silence the Aussie crowd like it was just another Tuesday at Melbourne Park.

What is Paula Hurd’s Net Worth?

While the late Oracle boss Mark stacked a tech empire worth north of 500 mil ($3,775 crore for the rupee counters), Paula—now 61 and fresh off running Christie’s Education—is reportedly sitting on her own $35 million nest egg (that’s about ₹290 crore if you’re doing the math). Talk about Valley wealth disparity—his exit package alone probably funded several unicorns.

Conclusion

And there you have it, folks – while Bill Gates may be an ace at debugging software, it appears he’s found his ideal partner without a single bug in sight in the form of Paula Hurd. Whether they are cooking love on the tennis court or splashing it at the Ambani party, this technologically integrated couple shows that love only gets upgraded. But as much as the engagement rumors might have been shut down before Windows 95 could even freeze, their relationship is as smooth as butter without the need of a ctrl-alt-delete. As for Paula? She’s showing us that being a billionaire’s girlfriend is just another check on her system registry.

FAQs

Q1: How did Bill Gates and Paula Hurd meet? 

A: Picture this: Indian Wells 2021, where love blossomed over the tennis serves. At first they tried to act all casual about it and indicated they just happened to be at the same tennis tournament, but their love for the game was enough to spark something. Gates, who used to rally with Federer, and Hurd, who frequented the La Costa club, no longer bothered with the façade by the time they showed up at the farewell match at the O2 Arena. It’s a match point in the game of love.

Q2: What’s Paula Hurd’s professional background? 

A: Paula is not some random Silicon Valley plus-one– she’s been part of the tech elite since the 80s. A UT Austin graduate from the class of ’84, she sharpened her claws at NCR when everyone else was still wondering which part of the floppy disk to shove into the drive. She later spent three decades as Mrs. Oracle (aka Mark Hurd’s wife), before transitioning to event management and philanthropy. Think of her as the ultimate tech world multi-tasker: equal parts executive and philanthropist, and a living, breathing example of the fact that it is possible to alt-tab between the two.

Q3: Are the engagement rumors true? 

A: Ah, the great ring-gate of July ‘23! When some people on the internet saw some shine on Paula’s finger, social media went into a frenzy faster than a new graphics card in a gaming PC. However, Gates’ PR team was quick to do the equivalent of a system restore, and explained that the ring was simply part of Paula’s everyday accessories. No upgrade to “engaged” status here, folks – just a classic case of the internet doing what it does best: making snap decisions at gigabit speeds.

Q4: What’s Paula Hurd’s net worth? 

A: Her late husband, Mark Hurd, was a tech billionaire with a fortune of over $500 million; as for Paula, she’s got $35 million (or ₹290 crore) of her own. Oh yes, it may well sound like small beer compared to Gates’ Microsoft empire, but come on, it’s enough to buy several lifetime’s supply of premium antivirus software and still have enough left over to purchase a couple of memberships of the local tennis club!

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Her late husband, Mark Hurd, was a tech billionaire with a fortune of over $500 million; as for Paula, she’s got $35 million (or ₹290 crore).