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Bill and Melinda Gates Finalize Their Divorce after 27-Year Marriage

One of the richest and seemingly most stable couples in the tech world, Bill and Melinda French Gates, have finalized their divorce. According to the filing with the King County Superior Court in Washington, the couple’s marriage of 27 years became officially over on Monday, when the judge signed the paper.

As per the filings, neither party will receive spousal support. Besides, Melinda will not change her last name.

Commenting on the divorce, Melinda stated:

“We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”

Apart from starting together at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), the couple has founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world. Furthermore, Bill Gates is the fourth-richest man in the world, with his current net worth $131.1 billion.

Bill and Melinda Gates’ Divorce Saga

On May 3, 2021, both the spouses first announced on Twitter the end of their marriage after 27 years. As we reported at that time, they planned to continue to work together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The couple stated at that time:

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. 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 ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

Bill and Milinda Gates met after she began working at Microsoft as a product manager in 1987. In 1994, they got married. By the time Melinda French Gates decided to end the marriage, Bill became known globally as a software pioneer, a billionaire, and a leading philanthropist.

Notably, before the divorce, there were allegations about potentially inappropriate conduct by Bill Gates toward Microsoft employees. In 2019, when Gates still served on Microsoft’s board, there appeared a complaint that he attempted to start a romantic relationship with an employee in 2000. After Bill Gates moved to settle the matter confidentially, Melinda insisted on an outside investigation.

In addition, in 2017, the couple confronted a sexual harassment allegation against a close associate. In early 2020, Gates stepped down as Microsoft’sCEO. However, a spokesperson for Bill Gates told that his decision to leave did not have to do anything with the affair.

Following this many-year story and after her own investigation, Melinda decided to end the marriage. Bill and Melinda Gates agreed to remain co-chairs of the Gates Foundation. However, the pair recently came up with a contingency plan in case they no longer wish to work together. Then, Melinda would resign as co-chair and receive ‘personal resources’ from Bill for her own philanthropic effort.

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Bill and Melinda Gates Finalize Their Divorce after 27-Year Marriage