Seattle Kraken adding Melinda French Gates as minority investor

Melinda French Gates is joining One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the parent brand of the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, as a minority investor. The organization announced the addition Monday.

French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman and "global advocate for women and girls," according to her website. She lives in Seattle. This is her first ownership stake in a major professional sports franchise.

I see this incredible opportunity that sports plays for a community to bring people together," French Gates told ESPN. "When I met (Kraken majority owner) Samantha (Holloway) and learned about her leadership - her background in tech and the innovative way she approaches challenges - it felt like a natural fit for me."

Earlier this year, Holloway announced that One Roof would pursue an NBA team in Seattle, should the league move forward with expansion. It's unclear at this time whether Gates would be part of the investment in an NBA franchise as well.

French Gates spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before departing to focus on her family and philanthropic work. She founded and co-chaired the Gates Foundation alongside now ex-husband Bill Gates and left in June 2024.

More recently, French Gates founded Pivotal, a group of organizations that "accelerate(s) the pace of social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and around the world." She was No. 74 on Forbes' 2026 Billionaires list with a net worth of $30 billion.

The Kraken's ownership group includes investors David Wright of Grousemont Associates, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and film and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer. French Gates joining the ownership group would have to be approved by the league.

"I am excited to welcome Melinda to our ownership group," Holloway said in a news release. "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."

The Kraken's first five seasons of play have been a bumpy ride. Since the expansion franchise began play in 2021, it has made the playoffs one time. A late collapse landed Seattle (34-37-11) sixth in the lowly, eight-team Pacific Division in 2025-26.

The Kraken parted ways with original general manager Ron Francis after the season ended and hired consulting firm Sportsology to conduct an independent review of hockey operations. Still, French Gates shared her suspicions that the Kraken are close to a championship.

"My hopes and dreams are that they blow the roof off the stadium because they're so loud because they won a Stanley Cup. They absolutely can do that. We know they can do that," French Gates said. "Sam's making the right investments and looking at it the right way. Seattle is a big sports town. ... So within 10 years, I have all the confidence that's going to happen, if not a whole lot sooner.

While the on-ice results failed to impress, the parent brand continued to expand. In March, Holloway announced the newly created One Roof Sports and Entertainment had entered into agreement to purchase additional equity in Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken play, from Oak View Group, That made the organization the majority owner of the building.

Also under that umbrella brand are the One Roof Foundation, Kraken Community Iceplex, the new Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center in partnership with the City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools, and the enterprise's interest in the Kraken's top affiliate, plus the building the Coachella Valley Firebirds play in.

French Gates frequently champions women's causes and Seattle does have a women's hockey team, the Seattle Torrent, who also practice at KCI and play at Climate Pledge Arena. But the Professional Women's Hockey League operates under a single-entity ownership model, which means Mark Walter, billionaire owner of the L.A. Dodgers, and his wife Kimbra own the rapidly expanding league and its 12 teams.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 4:52 PM.