The Gates divorce. Bill Gates, the tech billionaire, and philanthropist, and his wife Melinda announced their divorce after 34 years of being a couple. The pair announced their separation in a joint statement, stating that their union is irretrievably broken.
Gates announced split in a joint statement
Bill Gates is 65 years old, and Melinda Gates is 56. Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 19, are the couple's three adult children. Bill and Melinda have been together for 27 years and have been living together for 34 years. When she joined Microsoft as a product manager in 1987, Bill and Melinda met for the first time, as per the IBT.
Melinda, who grew up in Dallas, went to Duke University to study computer science and economics. In 2015, she founded Pivotal Ventures, a women-focused investment firm. The Moment of Lift, her first novel, was released in 2019.
Bill and Melinda Gates, the power couple who launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 and dominated the world of philanthropy in recent years, announced that they had reached an agreement on how to split their assets. The agreement's specifics, though, were not made public. And though Gates was the world's richest man for a long time, the couple is worth more than $100 billion.
The motion for a joint divorce was filed in Seattle's King County Superior Court. Melinda, according to sources, was the one who applied for divorce. The pair claimed in their divorce filing that they had no minor children, leading to rumors that they were waiting for their youngest child to turn 18 before filing for divorce.
"We have decided to end our marriage after much deliberation and hard work on our relationship... We don't think we'll be able to grow as a couple in the next phase of our lives. As we continue to explore this new life, we request space and privacy for our family," stated the joint statement, which was distributed individually through Twitter.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
Melinda's long journey away from Bill Gates' shadow
When Melinda French Gates requested her husband, Bill Gates, to let her co-author their foundation's annual letter in 2013, the discussion devolved into a fight. Bill then decided to have her compose a different piece on contraceptives when he wrote the main letter about the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda addressed one of three misconceptions that block change for the poor in the following year's message, while Bill addressed the other two.
Melinda's long path away from Bill's shadow is about to enter a new era. The 56-year-old Texas-raised computer scientist will continue to run the foundation alongside Bill Gates, 65, who she met at a business dinner in New York. However, she has also established herself as a solo activist for women's rights, Reuters via MSN reported.
Melinda Gates founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment firm focusing on women and families, in 2015. And her book is about female empowerment. Her Facebook profile features kudos to nurses and posts about prenatal treatment, as well as an Easter update with an old picture of her posing while holding a little girl, probably one of her two children, next to a dressed-up Easter bunny.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Despite their unexpected divorce announcement on Monday, Bill and Melinda Gates have stated that they will continue to collaborate on their charitable foundation, which has invested almost $2 billion in the battle against the coronavirus alone. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has expanded to become the world's largest and most prominent private philanthropic organization since its founding in 2000.
The nonprofit foundation, which has a nearly $50 billion endowment, seeks to enhance healthcare and alleviate global poverty worldwide while also helping to increase educational opportunity and access to technology in the United States. Bill, 65, and Melinda, 56, are trustees for the Seattle-based foundation, headed by CEO Mark Suzman. Fellow multi-billionaire Warren Buffett joins them.
The organization has given out billions of dollars in grants for research and policy projects over the years while also working on topics including climate change and gender equality. It cost at least $1.75 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, with money going to vaccine manufacturers, diagnostics, and possible treatments, as per NY Post.
