How much money will Melinda Gates get from her divorce from Bill Gates?
Melinda Gates and the Microsoft cofounder both tweeted on Monday a statement announcing the divorce.
"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," their statement said. "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
The philanthropists said in the statement that they planned to continue to work together on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The pair married in 1994, seven years after Melinda Gates joined Microsoft as a product manager. When Bill Gates initially asked her out, he inquired if they could go out "two weeks from tonight."
Melinda Gates said: "I have no idea what I'm doing two weeks from tonight." Bill Gates responded: "You're not spontaneous enough for me." After taking her number, he ended up calling her that same day.
They have three children together, including one who is a nationally ranked equestrian show jumper. Each of the Gates children will inherit $10 million, Bill Gates has said, and the rest of the Gates' fortune will go to charity.
About the time that the pair met, Microsoft had a market capitalization of about $35 billion. Now, that figure is almost $2 trillion, and Microsoft is one of the most valuable companies.
