Bill Gates & Melinda Gates Officially Announce Divorce After 27 Years

After 27 years of marriage, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates have agreed to split ways. On Monday, they released the following statement: 

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” Bill and Melinda wrote, “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

Bill Gates led Microsoft as its CEO from its founding in 1975 alongside his partner Paul Allen until 2000. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, Bill Gates decided to step down from Microsoft’s board. 

Through his success, Bill Gates is now worth around $124 billion and currently ranks as the 4th richest person on earth. Jeff Bezos, with a worth of $177 billion, takes the number one spot. Bezos is now the CEO of Amazon but is expected to step down during late 2021. 

Bill Gates met Melinda Gates in 1987 at a Microsoft dinner party. In 1990, she told him that the two were either to get married or to end the relationship. 

Like he usually does, Bill Gates went to the drawing board. He wrote out the pros and cons of marrying her, and at the end of the day, the two got engaged. They tied the knot in 1994 in the tropics of Hawaii. 

In 2000, the Gates family started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation focuses on philanthropy. 

In 2008, Bill Gates stepped down from day to day operation at Microsoft to focus on the foundation. As it stands, the foundation has $51 billion in assets. Melinda Gates is an equal partner at the foundation. 

If Melinda Gates gets around the same percentage of Bill Gates’ assets, she will most likely be the second richest woman in the world!