What will happen to Bill Gates' fortune after he divorces Melinda?
The news of the divorce of Bill Gates and Melinda, after 27 years of marriage, fell like a bucket of cold water, especially for the foundation they preside over and which receives a large part of their fortune. This could be the most expensive divorce in history.
Melinda's mother never agreed with her daughter dating the CEO of Microsoft, but the young recent graduate of Computer Science and Economics from Duke University ignored it and 5 years after the beginning of the courtship she married Bill Gates . The couple had 3 children and formed one of the most important economic emporiums in the world. Now that they have announced their separation, more than one wonders what will happen to the millions of dollars and the philanthropic society that bears their names.
"We have made the decision after many reflections and after having done a great job on our relationship," says the statement published by the couple. Elsewhere it is clear that the foundation is still standing: "For 27 years we raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works around the world with the aim of allowing all people to have a healthy and productive life."
At the time Bill and Melinda met, Microsoft had a market capitalization of about $ 35 billion. Twenty-seven years later, in January 2021, Gates' wealth amounted to $ 133 billion, ranking fourth among the world's billionaires. His wife, meanwhile, has a fortune of $ 70 billion.
It is not yet known how it will be distributed, but the divorce agreement could be the largest in history. When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos divorced MacKenzie Scott in 2019, she went for $ 38 billion and her settlement made her the third richest woman in the world. If a similar agreement is reached, Melinda Gates could receive a figure of more than 33 billion dollars.
According to Gates, she will inherit $ 10 million to each of her three children and the rest of her will go to charity. In fact, through her foundation, the marriage has already donated more than 250 million dollars to face the coronavirus pandemic since March 2020.
