Bill Gates's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, one of the possible causes of his divorce
According to 'The Wall Street Journal', Melinda Gates initiated contacts with her lawyers in 2019 assuring that her marriage was broken
A surprising new fact about the divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates, one of the most powerful couples in the world, has just come to light. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Melinda had already consulted lawyers about the divorce process in 2019, assuring that her marriage "was irretrievably broken." The aforementioned newspaper points out, citing close sources and a former employee of its foundation, that one of the reasons that moved Melinda to end her 25-year union with the founder of Microsoft was that the businessman's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was made public. , an American tycoon accused of sex trafficking of minors and who was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019.
As the documents consulted by the publication would point out, Bill and Melinda negotiated the conditions of their divorce during 2020, in the months in which the world was most affected by the pandemic, although the announcement was made on May 3. However, the reasons that led the marriage to go their separate ways are not explained in these documents. In 2019, Bridgitt Arnold, spokesperson for Mr. Gates, referred to the contacts of the renowned software entrepreneur and Mr. Epstein, assuring that they had met on several occasions to discuss philanthropic issues. "Bill Gates regrets meeting Epstein and acknowledges that it was an error in judgment to do so," Arnold noted.
Gates himself referred to these meetings in September 2019. In an interview published by The Wall Street Jornal. “I met him. But I have no business relationship or friendship with him, ”she said. According to the same sources mentioned above, The Wall Street Journal points out that Melinda's concern about her husband's contacts with Epstein dates back to 2013. After expressing his discomfort, the former employee of the Gates foundation explains that Bill Gates ignored he ignored his wife.
The distribution of his fortune begins
The whole world was speechless when reading the statement from Bill and Melinda Gates on May 3 with which they ended their union after more than 25 years and three children together. "After thinking hard and working hard on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. We have three amazing children and we have built an organization that works around the world with the goal of getting all people to lead a life healthy and productive. We continue to share our faith in that mission and we will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe that we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives, "said the couple, referring to the Bill and Melinda Foundation. Gates, a philanthropic organization they founded in 2000.
At stake is the fortune that they amassed in these more than two decades and that it seems that they have already begun to distribute because they did not sign a prenuptial agreement. The same day his separation was announced, the businessman made a multimillion-dollar transfer to his wife. Bill Gates' investment firm Cascade Investment transferred $ 1.8 billion (about 1.5 billion euros) in shares to Melinda, according to the report from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Melinda received 2.94 million shares of AutoNation and 14.1 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co, with values of € 256 million and € 1,245 million, respectively. A transfer of securities that would correspond to the possible divorce agreement that the ex-partner would have reached privately. Melinda Gates is therefore already a billionaire, while her still husband Bill Gates is still the fourth richest man on the planet.
