Bill and Melinda
Gates[1] have officially
filed for divorce.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
![image](/2021/04/CaseManager.jpg")
“This marriage is irretrievably broken,” Melinda Gates wrote in
her petition for divorce on Monday, with Bill Gates[2] listed as the
respondent. “We ask the court to dissolve our marriage and find
that our marital community ended on the date stated in our
separation contract.”
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
Court papers[3] obtained by TMZ
show that Mr Gates has hired three law firms, including Munger,
Tolles & Olson. Charles Munger, seen by some as Warren Buffett[4]’s right-hand man,
founded the firm in 1962, but is not listed as one of Mr Gates’
lawyers. He is 97 years old.
Mr Gates and Mr Munger previously worked together at Mr Warren’s
holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, until Mr Gates stepped down
from the board in 2020. He and Mr Warren are close friends and
colleagues.
The divorce papers also show that there was no prenuptial
agreement before the marriage. Mr Gates is currently the fourth
richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $124
billion. Without a pre-nup, the divorce could potentially divide
that fortune in half.
The couple announced their separation on Monday, after nearly
three decades together.
“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 Gates wrote in a statement[5] they both posted on
Twitter.
The couple has been married for almost three decades, and works
together to run the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation[6], the largest private
charity in the world.
“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,” the Gates’
statement continued.
“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.”
However, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation[7] said nothing will
change in terms of the two professionals’ work.
“Bill and Melinda will remain co-chairs and trustees of the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation,” the Foundation told The
Independent on Monday. “No changes to their roles or the
organization are planned. They will continue to work together to
shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the
foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall
direction.”
Bill and Melinda met in the 1980s at microsoft[8]“>Microsoft, the tech giant Mr Gates co-founded, when
Melinda worked there as a product manager. According to Melinda,
Bill weighed the pros and cons of marrying her on a whiteboard.
They married in Hawaii in 1994.
In 2000, they founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with
the goal of reducing poverty and improving health care around the
world. The couple shares control of the enormous charity with one
other trustee, Mr Buffett[9].
In March 2020, Mr Gates stepped down from his board position at
Microsoft to devote more time to the charity. When the Covid-19
pandemic began, the Foundation dove into fighting the
virus[10], donating hundreds of
millions of dollars to develop vaccines and therapeutic drugs.
In a 2019 Netflix documentary, Inside Bill’s Brain[11], Mr Gates was highly
complimentary of his wife.
“In the case of Melinda, it is a truly equal partner,” he said.
“She’s a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is
interested in science. She is better with people than I am. She’s a
tiny bit less hardcore about knowing, you know, immunology, than I
am.”
Bill and Melinda
Gates[1] have officially
filed for divorce.
“This marriage is irretrievably broken,” Melinda Gates wrote in
her petition for divorce on Monday, with Bill Gates[2] listed as the
respondent. “We ask the court to dissolve our marriage and find
that our marital community ended on the date stated in our
separation contract.”
Court papers[3] obtained by TMZ
show that Mr Gates has hired three law firms, including Munger,
Tolles & Olson. Charles Munger, seen by some as Warren Buffett[4]’s right-hand man,
founded the firm in 1962, but is not listed as one of Mr Gates’
lawyers. He is 97 years old.
Mr Gates and Mr Munger previously worked together at Mr Warren’s
holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, until Mr Gates stepped down
from the board in 2020. He and Mr Warren are close friends and
colleagues.
The divorce papers also show that there was no prenuptial
agreement before the marriage. Mr Gates is currently the fourth
richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $124
billion. Without a pre-nup, the divorce could potentially divide
that fortune in half.
The couple announced their separation on Monday, after nearly
three decades together.
“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 Gates wrote in a statement[5] they both posted on
Twitter.
The couple has been married for almost three decades, and works
together to run the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation[6], the largest private
charity in the world.
“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,” the Gates’
statement continued.
“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.”
However, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation[7] said nothing will
change in terms of the two professionals’ work.
“Bill and Melinda will remain co-chairs and trustees of the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation,” the Foundation told The
Independent on Monday. “No changes to their roles or the
organization are planned. They will continue to work together to
shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the
foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall
direction.”
Bill and Melinda met in the 1980s at microsoft[8]“>Microsoft, the tech giant Mr Gates co-founded, when
Melinda worked there as a product manager. According to Melinda,
Bill weighed the pros and cons of marrying her on a whiteboard.
They married in Hawaii in 1994.
In 2000, they founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with
the goal of reducing poverty and improving health care around the
world. The couple shares control of the enormous charity with one
other trustee, Mr Buffett[9].
In March 2020, Mr Gates stepped down from his board position at
Microsoft to devote more time to the charity. When the Covid-19
pandemic began, the Foundation dove into fighting the
virus[10], donating hundreds of
millions of dollars to develop vaccines and therapeutic drugs.
In a 2019 Netflix documentary, Inside Bill’s Brain[11], Mr Gates was highly
complimentary of his wife.
“In the case of Melinda, it is a truly equal partner,” he said.
“She’s a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is
interested in science. She is better with people than I am. She’s a
tiny bit less hardcore about knowing, you know, immunology, than I
am.”