Bill and Melinda Gates separate: how to negotiate the divorces of great fortunes
The couple announced their separation after twenty-seven years of marriage. Dive behind the scenes of the separations of the most fortunate.
The announcement had the effect of a media bombshell. After 27 years of marriage, billionaire Bill Gates, the richest ex-man in the world, and his wife Melinda Gates announced their divorce on Monday evening. "After careful consideration and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the two Americans, who reside in Washington state, tweeted in a joint statement.
Despite the official filing of their divorce file, the financial details of their separation obviously remain secret to this day. According to Reuters and the TMZ website, the couple, whose fortunes are valued at 130 billion dollars (100 million euros), are asking for the sharing of common assets. Under Washington state law, property acquired during marriage could be distributed equally between the two spouses.
The diet was also chosen by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie during their divorce in 2019, deemed "to be the most expensive in history." Considered the richest man in the world with a fortune of around $ 137 billion, the boss of the e-commerce giant did not sign a marriage contract with his wife before their nuptials. After several months of discreet negotiations, his ex-wife had finally obtained 19.7 million Amazon shares, representing more than $ 60 billion, or 4% of the shares of the American company.
“Tailor-made contracts”, a less taboo culture…
Curious coincidence, just like Jeff Bezos, the Gates couple had not signed any "prenup", in other words marriage contract, which is rarely the case across the Atlantic when such a fortune is at stake. The spouses may however agree that some goods are separate assets, that is, they belong to one of them. From a legal point of view, for example, personal inheritances can fall into this category. Especially since lawyers can adjust this distribution "according to what is fair and equitable", assures the lawyer Janet George, of the firm McKinley Irvin, as quoted by Bloomberg. "In Anglo-Saxon countries, the idea of equitable sharing is deeply rooted," confirms Elodie Mulon, a lawyer in property and extra-patrimonial law.
Another notable difference: the United States would have "greater contractual freedom during a divorce," adds Anne Marion De Cayeux, lawyer at the Paris bar, specializing in family law. "Marriage contracts are tailor-made and the spouses will be able to determine in advance a number of clauses, sometimes with far-reaching consequences. We can thus decide what the other will receive in the event of infidelity, for example. It is a freedom that we do not find in France ", specifies the specialist.
Despite a culture "less taboo" on money in the couple in the United States, the reverse of these negotiations, often bitter, obviously remains confidential. "When such a heritage is at stake, the terms of the separation cannot be decided in a few hours," says Élodie Mulon. “Advisors, tax lawyers, real estate experts, notaries intervene to provide their expertise. In the case of the Gates and their heritage, the negotiations must have taken several months, because the future of their company is at stake. "
A "managerial" approach and communication
And while marriage contracts are established in a "more uninhibited" way than in France, they do not always prevent rifts, once the procedure has started. This is evidenced by some particularly heated divorces, such as the one experienced by ex-Hollywood couple Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie. Separated since 2016, the two actors would have respectively spent one million dollars (or 85,000 euros) in legal costs, according to the Daily Mail. The process is "almost worse when people have money because they will continue to fight indefinitely," said divorce lawyer Kelly Chang Rickert to the American newspaper.
To avoid years of painful procedures, some families prefer to opt for another solution, which also exists in France: that of arbitration. “This is an alternative dispute resolution method to the courts. In this case, we will have recourse to several judges, with a very technical profile, who will settle a dispute. It is a form of private justice reserved for very large fortunes, ”adds Anne-Marion de Cayeux. A procedure that the Gates hope to avoid by continuing their professional activities together.
“The slightest flaw in the discourse can have negative effects on their foundation and more distantly on Microsoft. No one wants the newspaper unboxing. They handle their divorce like business owners, comments Emlyn Korengold, co-CEO of Edelman France, a US public relations consultancy. It is a managerial approach and communication ". In the United States, the notion of "power couple" has grown in importance over the past thirty years, especially in the spheres of power. The goal of the Gates spouses is above all to perpetuate this image - despite a divorce - so as not to destroy their common work.
