Bill Gates had an affair with an employee, and apparently Melinda knew it
In addition, according to sources, one of the issues that could have precipitated the breakup with Melinda Gates was the relationship between Bill and Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
Bill Gates left Microsoft's board of directors in 2020 after the company launched an investigation into a romantic relationship between him and an employee, as reported this Sunday night (05/16/2021) by The Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft commissioned the investigation to a law firm at the end of 2019, following a letter in which an engineer revealed to have had a relationship "for years" with the founder of the company, according to the newspaper, which cites sources knowledgeable about the matter.
Some members of the board of directors considered it inappropriate for Gates to remain on the body, but before a decision was made about his permanence and the investigation was finalized, the businessman resigned from his position.
Gates spokesman acknowledges "affair"
A Gates spokeswoman acknowledged the existence of an "affair" between the businessman and an employee almost 20 years ago, which ended "amicably", and assured that her resignation from the board "was not related in any way to that matter," it states. The Wall Street Journal.
"In fact, he had expressed interest in spending more time in philanthropy than he had started several years earlier," she added.
Employee would have also sent the letter to Melinda Gates
According to the report, the Microsoft employee also sent her letter to Melinda Gates. However, it is unclear if she actually read the content. Therefore, no one knows to what extent the affair played a role in the Gates' divorce. Recently, several American media outlets reported that Melinda Gates had sought legal advice to divorce as early as 2019.
On the other hand, The New York Times published this weekend that Gates "developed a reputation for questionable behavior in work environments" and that on several occasions he sought relationships with women who worked for his foundation or Microsoft, something that his spokesman considered "falsehoods".
Bill and Melinda break up
Gates and his wife Melinda, who co-founded their charity two decades ago to fight poverty and disease around the world, announced their divorce on May 3 after 27 years of marriage.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some members of the board of directors also questioned the links between Gates and financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged child trafficking.
Gates' team assured the board that the Microsoft founder had met with Epstein for "philanthropic reasons" and that he "regretted doing so," according to the newspaper.
Gates, who founded Microsoft in 1975, resigned as CEO of the company in 2000, claiming that he wanted to focus on his founding. He left his full-time position at Microsoft in 2008. His position as chairman of the board of directors was the last position that officially linked him to the company.
