Bill Gates and his wife Melinda announce their divorce
The couple, with an estimated fortune of around 130,000 million dollars, nevertheless affirm that they will continue to work together in the charitable foundation that bears their name
Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, and his wife Melinda, creators of a gigantic foundation that fights poverty and disease, announced their divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage. "After much thought and work in our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," they said in a joint statement posted on Twitter.
The couple, one of the wealthiest in the world with an estimated fortune of about $ 130 billion, nevertheless announced that they will continue to work together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This charity was created more than two decades ago to combat poverty, disease and inequality on the planet.
In any case, both pointed out that "we no longer believe that we can grow together as a couple in this next stage of our lives," without further explaining the specific reasons for their separation. The couple, who have three children, asked for "space and privacy for our family" as they begin "to navigate this new life."
Bill Gates, 65, is currently the fourth richest man in the world, according to the specialized magazine Forbes, behind two other Americans, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, as well as the Frenchman Bernard Arnault. However, he is ahead of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
He created his first 'software' programs in his parents' garage before co-founding Microsoft. There he met Melinda, now 56, when she was a young employee of the company in 1987, the year in which she graduated with a degree in computer science. They married in 1994 and over the years they both distanced themselves from computing - Bill Gates left the company in 2014 - to devote himself full-time to philanthropy.
Eradicate disease and educate
One of the goals of the foundation he built with his wife in Seattle, in the western state of Washington, is to eradicate polio and malaria. They also invest in initial education and have allocated more than 1,000 million dollars to combat the covid-19 pandemic, contributing to the Covax mechanism, the global initiative that organizes the purchase of vaccines for 92 poor countries in the world and dozens of other countries.
The Gates transferred $ 20 billion of Microsoft stock to their foundation, which is the world's largest private charitable organization. Since 2000, this charity, which has 1,600 employees, has invested $ 53.8 billion, its website notes.
Billionaire Warren Buffett has also donated billions of dollars to the foundation - of which he is a trustee with the couple - and has promised to donate most of the fortune to the foundation when he dies. The Gates say the progress is tangible: The number of children under the age of five who die each year has halved since 2000. “Millions more children are surviving. That makes us optimistic, “says the still married couple until all the divorce proceedings are finalized, which will surely include a juicy distribution of assets for Melinda.
The couple, with an estimated fortune of around 130,000 million dollars, nevertheless affirm that they will continue to work together in the charitable foundation that bears their name
Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, and his wife Melinda, creators of a gigantic foundation that fights poverty and disease, announced their divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage. "After much thought and work in our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," they said in a joint statement posted on Twitter.
The couple, one of the wealthiest in the world with an estimated fortune of about $ 130 billion, nevertheless announced that they will continue to work together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This charity was created more than two decades ago to combat poverty, disease and inequality on the planet.
In any case, both pointed out that "we no longer believe that we can grow together as a couple in this next stage of our lives," without further explaining the specific reasons for their separation. The couple, who have three children, asked for "space and privacy for our family" as they begin "to navigate this new life."
Bill Gates, 65, is currently the fourth richest man in the world, according to the specialized magazine Forbes, behind two other Americans, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, as well as the Frenchman Bernard Arnault. However, he is ahead of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
He created his first 'software' programs in his parents' garage before co-founding Microsoft. There he met Melinda, now 56, when she was a young employee of the company in 1987, the year in which she graduated with a degree in computer science. They married in 1994 and over the years they both distanced themselves from computing - Bill Gates left the company in 2014 - to devote himself full-time to philanthropy.
Eradicate disease and educate
One of the goals of the foundation he built with his wife in Seattle, in the western state of Washington, is to eradicate polio and malaria. They also invest in initial education and have allocated more than 1,000 million dollars to combat the covid-19 pandemic, contributing to the Covax mechanism, the global initiative that organizes the purchase of vaccines for 92 poor countries in the world and dozens of other countries.
The Gates transferred $ 20 billion of Microsoft stock to their foundation, which is the world's largest private charitable organization. Since 2000, this charity, which has 1,600 employees, has invested $ 53.8 billion, its website notes.
Billionaire Warren Buffett has also donated billions of dollars to the foundation - of which he is a trustee with the couple - and has promised to donate most of the fortune to the foundation when he dies. The Gates say the progress is tangible: The number of children under the age of five who die each year has halved since 2000. “Millions more children are surviving. That makes us optimistic, “says the still married couple until all the divorce proceedings are finalized, which will surely include a juicy distribution of assets for Melinda.
