Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates has become the newest minority investor in the Seattle Kraken, pending NHL approval. The 61-year-old native of Dallas, Texas, has a net worth of $30 billion, according to Forbes. Gates is the ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

“As a longtime Seattle resident, it means a lot to me to have the chance to make this investment in our city and its future,” Gates said in a statement released by the Kraken on Monday. “I’m a big believer in the power of sports, and after many years of cheering on Seattle from the sidelines, I’m excited to have an even deeper connection to the Seattle sports community.”

Gates joins an ownership group that already featured a variety of minority investors, including longtime Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Seattle Sounders owner Tod Leiweke and former Cirque du Soleil chairman Mitch Garber. The Kraken declined to share its full list of investors; however, celebrities like NFL star Marshawn Lynch and rapper Macklemore have also been involved financially.

Gates worked as a multimedia product developer for Microsoft in the 1980s, working on projects that included the company’s word processing software, Microsoft Word, and the company’s encyclopedia project, Encarta. She left Microsoft in 1996 before holding seats on the boards of directors for numerous groups and beginning her philanthropic work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, now known as the Gates Foundation.

The Kraken are co-owned by Samantha Holloway, the majority owner of the One Roof Sports & Entertainment Group. Holloway is the NHL’s lone female governor and one of the few female NHL owners alongside Buffalo’s Kim Pegula, Utah’s Ashley Smith and Colorado’s Ann Walton Kroenke, who each co-own their franchises with their husbands.

“I am excited to welcome Melinda to our ownership group,” said Samantha Holloway. “Melinda is an impressive business leader, philanthropist and importantly, a Seattle sports fan. We share many of the same values, including a deep commitment to Seattle and a belief in building organizations that create lasting impact.”

One Roof Sports & Entertainment oversees the Kraken and its home, Climate Pledge Arena, which is also the home of the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. It could also be the home arena for an NBA franchise once the league decides to expand. Holloway also expressed interest in an NBA team in a recent interview with The Athletic’s James Mirtle.

“I’m a huge basketball fan,” Holloway said in an April interview. “At the moment, my heart is in hockey, and I’m really proud of what we’ve built here, but we’ve shown we can bring an expansion team to Seattle and that the market is big and sports-focused. And there’s plenty of appetite for another team as well. We’re excited at the possibility.”

Until this spring, the Kraken were also home to the league’s first female assistant coach, Jessica Campbell. However, the Kraken announced she’d be leaving the organization in late April for other NHL coaching opportunities.

The Kraken are the NHL’s 32nd and most recent franchise, playing their first games during the 2021-22 campaign. Seattle has only made the playoffs once in its five-year history, reaching the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs before losing to the Dallas Stars in seven games.