Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates And Melinda Gates To Divorce
‘We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,’ the Gateses said in a tweet Monday.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and wife Melinda Gates — a philanthropist and former Microsoft general manager — will end their marriage of 27 years.
The Gateses each tweeted a statement Monday saying they made the decision “after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship.”
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
They will continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world and an investor in education, health care and other initiatives.
“We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,” the Gateses said.
In March 2020, Bill Gates stepped down from the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant’s board of directors to dedicate more time to philanthropic endeavors.
Forbes pegged Bill Gates’ net worth at $124 billion as of last month, making him the fourth-richest person in the world.
CNBC reported that Gates owns 1.37 percent of Microsoft‘s outstanding shares, worth more than $26 billion.
In April, Bill Gates was beat out for richest person in the world by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who recently went through a divorce with former wife MacKenzie Scott. As part of the divorce settlement, Bezos transferred 25 percent of his Amazon stake to Scott, which represented 4 percent of the company.