Bill Gates’ daughter has once again been called out for an interaction with an online creator that has been branded by people online as a “slap in the face”.
Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of tech billionaire Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, recently started her own company, Phia, alongside her co-founder and former Stanford University roommate, Sophia Kianni.
Phia is an app and mobile browsing extension that aims to help shoppers find the best value for items online by comparing new and second-hand listings for the same and similar items.
The business launched in April 2025 and is now valued at around $262 million ($US185m), boasting an impressive list of investors and advisers, including Kris Jenner, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, and media executive and former president of Honey, Joanne Bradford.
Despite the company seemingly being off to a very lucrative start, California-based creator Kacie Margis has claimed Ms Gates reached out to her with a rather insulting offer.
Ms Margis recently shared a screenshot of a direct message on Instagram that appeared to be sent from Ms Gates’ account back in April last year.
In the message, the business owner asked the content creator if she would be “down to collab” ahead of the launch of Phia.
“We’re still a scrappy start-up so budget’s super limited,” the message read.
Ms Margis captioned the screenshot: “When a billionaire’s daughter says the budget is super limited and it’s a ‘scrappy little start-up’ to try to pay me less than what my posted rates are.”
She claimed that Ms Gates found her on a website called Collabstr, where brands can book creators. On the site, Ms Margis is listed as lifestyle content creator, fashion model and fitness influencer.
“My rates are publicly listed on the platform, but instead of booking me there, she sent a private message trying to negotiate me down,” she said, sharing a screenshot that listed a price of $250 for a 30-second video advertisement.
News.com.au has reached out to Phia for comment.
Ms Margis’ post sparked a huge response, with people horrified by her claim that Ms Gates had contacted her directly in order to negotiate a lower rate.
“This is actually insane,” one person said, while another branded it “incredibly embarrassing” and someone else called it “a slap in the face”.
“How unprofessional on every level, starting with ‘hey love’,” one person commented.
Another added: “This is Bill Gate’s daughter? She wants the by-the-bootstraps recognition all the while knowing she has one of the richest men on the planet to ask for help if she needs it. Gross.”
In a follow up post, Ms Margis said her post wasn’t about calling out a single business owner for one message.
“It’s about a broader pattern: wealthy founders leveraging power and proximity to wealth to secure free or discounted labour,” she said, adding that this is a “reality” many creators face daily.
“I have no personal issue with Phoebe and don’t support people bullying her, even if I disagree with her business tactics.
“I just want people in positions of privilege to value creators.”
This isn’t the first time Ms Gates has been publicly called out for an interaction with an online creator.
Luxury brand deals expert, Jarrod Jenkins, called out Phia and it’s founders last year, claiming he was asked to work for “free” to promote the business.
Mr Jenkins describes himself as a luxury brand strategist and boasts over 54,000 followers on TikTok, where he talks about high-end fashion and often compares the prices of similar products.
“Let’s talk about how Bill Gates’ daughter disrespected me,” Mr Jenkins said in a recent TikTok video.
“So Bill Gates’ daughter reaches out to me, I don’t know her, but she knows I am a luxury deal expert.”
The creator shared a message seemingly sent from the Phia business page about a week before its launch.
In it, the person sending the message explained “my company @phia.co is launching at the end of the month”, before going on to say they “would love” to give Mr Jenkins early access so that he can share his thoughts with his “community” when the app goes live.
Mr Jenkins claimed he was asked to do this “for free”, noting that this is a service he would usually charge thousands of dollars for.
“She didn’t even subscribe to my Substack, that’s $5 a month, $30 a year and they just signed up for the free tier,” he said.
The creator then shared his response, in which he said that if he had been contacted “well in advance” of the launch, he would have advised Ms Gates and Ms Kianni not to go live with the product.
“I actually downloaded the app and it is absolutely worthless,” Mr Jenkins said, claiming the app recommends entirely different products or products in a different condition to the one being searched.
In his reply, Mr Jenkins offered to serve as an adviser for Phia moving forward, but claims he never received a response.