Melinda Gates began meeting with divorce attorneys nearly two years ago.
In October 2019, when her husband Bill's controversial friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein became public, the philanthropist made the first consultation with experts
Melinda Gates held the first conversations with specialist divorce attorneys in October 2019, in the same period that Bill Gates's ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, a friendship that haunted her, became public. As revealed by The Wall Street Journal, Melinda consulted with attorneys for approximately two years before officially filing for the mogul's divorce. At that time, she already said that her marriage was "irretrievably broken."
The American media assures that the 56-year-old philanthropist has been working with several law firms since that first meeting, looking for the best way to dissolve the marriage of more than two decades, and a multimillion-dollar fortune at stake.
Last Monday, Bill Gates announced on social networks the end of his marriage to Melinda Gates, after being together for 27 years. The news came as a great surprise, since to the public opinion they appeared as a solid couple: charity events here and there, trips around the world together. However, the relationship of the powerful philanthropists began to break down years ago, in part because of some of the friendships that the Microsoft founder had and that made his then wife uncomfortable: especially his relationship with Epstein.
Melinda first met the financier in New York City, her husband introduced them. From the first meeting, she felt rejection by the child molester tycoon, who committed suicide in jail on August 10, 2019. And she was enraged with her husband, she disapproved of that friendship.
According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Melinda Gates and her legal advisers had multiple calls in October 2019 when the New York Times reported that the Microsoft founder had met Epstein numerous times.
Although she has repeatedly denied it, Bill Gates maintained a close relationship with Epstein. According to the NYT, the moguls had numerous encounters since 2011. Boris Nikolic, a mogul advisor, was involved in the execution of the New York financier's will. And Melanie Walker, who worked at the Gates Foundation, advised Epstein on science.
In 2011, Gates attended a party at Epstein's Manhattan mansion, and in 2013 the Microsoft founder flew the New York tycoon from New Jersey's private plane to Palm Beach, Florida. That same year the two would have met again in New York City.
"I met him. I had no business or friendship relationship with him, ”Gates said in September 2019.
A source close to the Gates confirmed that Melinda was furious with the relationship. And it is that in addition to the fact that some of his stories as a sexual predator were already public, Epstein was a person who in public behaved in an unpleasant way, had bad manners and that is why many people did not want to be by his side, according to The Daily Beast. .
According to WSJ, at the beginning of 2020 they were no longer functioning as a couple. In fact, they did not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of business and world leaders that the powerful couple always went out to attend.
A few months later, on March 13, Gates said he was resigning from the boards of Microsoft Corp and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. So, the Microsoft co-founder said he planned to focus more on his philanthropic endeavors, for the truth is that by then , the Gates were already in talks to divide their huge estate. In fact, in strict secrecy, the legal teams of both parties were privately discussing with a mediator to resolve the separation.
Melinda's legal team already included New York divorce attorney Robert Stephan Cohen, the same one who represented Michael Bloomberg, Henry Kravis and Ivana Trump in their divorces. And Bill Gates also had some star attorneys, such as Ronald Olson, a partner at the firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP who has represented Mark Zuckerberg, among others.
The May 3 formal divorce petition says the couple had agreed to a separation contract to divide their assets, a fortune estimated at $ 130 billion by Forbes. Its assets include a $ 131 million lakeside resort in Washington state called Xanadu 2.0, a rare Leonardo da Vinci notebook, and investments in Microsoft and Four Seasons hotels.
Last week, Cascade Investment, the holding company created by Bill Gates, transferred shares of two of the largest companies in Mexico to Melinda French Gates, bringing the total amount it has received in recent days exceeds $ 2 billion.
Cascade transferred more than $ 500 million worth of shares in Coca-Cola Femsa and Grupo Televisa to its control, according to regulatory documents dated May 3, the same day the Gates announced they would end their 27-year marriage. Cascade this week transferred about $ 1.8 billion in shares of Canadian National Railway Company and AutoNation Incorporated to French Gates, Bloomberg reported.
Melinda now has a 4.7% stake in Coca-Cola Femsa, worth USD 121 million, and a 6.7% stake in Grupo Televisa, worth USD 386 million. That places it among the largest shareholders in two of Mexico's largest companies, Business Insider reported.
Bill Gates also transferred some of his Canada National Railway and AutoNation properties to his ex-wife, the documents showed. His 1.9% stake in Canada's longest rail system was valued at $ 1.5 billion, while his 3.7% stake in the auto retailer was worth $ 307 million at Wednesday's closing price.
Bill Gates' greatest asset is Cascade Investment, which he created with proceeds from Microsoft stock sales and dividends. Cascade oversees a broad portfolio comprising real estate, energy and hospitality, as well as interests in dozens of publicly traded companies.
Bill Gates sold or donated most of his stake in Microsoft, which he ran for some 34 years. He currently owns 1% of the technology company and it is worth an estimated $ 144 billion. Billionaire philanthropists have spent much of their $ 130 billion fortune on charity through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
