The extravagant wedding of billionaire Bill Gates' daughter takes place this weekend: city closed, dignitaries expected, marquees erected in glass
Steph Deschamps / October 14, 2021
The wedding of Jennifer, the eldest daughter of billionaire Microsoft boss Bill Gates, takes place this Saturday in North Salem, an upscale burg located 50 miles from Manhattan, where 25-year-old Jennifer owns a farm. Her parents gave her this vast property in 2018 to congratulate her for graduating from Stanford University. Jennifer will marry her equestrian fiancé Nayel Nassar, 30, with whom she has been in a relationship for many years.
Melinda Gates, the billionaire's ex-wife, was spotted two days ago arriving in New York on a helicopter to prepare for this weekend's wedding. The mother and daughter were spotted Wednesday getting dolled up.
The wedding preparations are in the home stretch. Several glass marquis have been erected in the garden of the young woman's property.
However, not everyone is happy with these arrangements. It's totally over the top. Just incredibly extravagant. It's causing a lot of inconvenience to the neighbors, one witness told the Daily Mail. The ballet of trucks going back and forth to the farm to transport the massive glass canopies was also pointed out by another neighbor: Trucks are constantly coming and going in a field on the farm where the deer were grazing. There is a noisy forklift and dozens of workers riding around on ATVs.
Someone close to the bride-to-be explained that the young woman was still hoping that her wedding could be held outside: Jenn is hoping that the ceremony itself can be held outside, but in case the weather is bad, they have set up huge tents in one of the fields and several state-of-the-art steel and glass structures.
Several famous guests are expected according to several sources: Bill and Melinda are friends with many dignitaries and people like Barack Obama. They may be there. A request has been made to the city to close the road that runs in front of the vast grounds surrounding the mansion to give the guests 'privacy' during the ceremony.
Another source estimated that the construction costs for the pavilions will be at least $2 million.
Jennifer Gates' wealthy neighbors in North Salem include David Letterman and another champion equestrian, Georgina Bloomberg whose father is former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, who bought her a horse farm in 2012.
In addition to this horse farm, Bill and Melinda also reportedly bought their daughter an estimated $5 million apartment in Manhattan, where she is pursuing her medical degree.
The equestrian and medical student announced her engagement to Egyptian horseman Nayel, 30, in January 2020.