Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, cause of Melinda's divorce, according to 'WSJ'
The philanthropist had conversations with her lawyers in October 2019, when the links of the Microsoft co-founder with the tycoon and pedophile were made public.
The divorce of the century of the Gates has not been a thing of a day, it had been cooking for a long time, and it was being negotiated during the covid-19 pandemic. Melinda Gates had been looking for and consulting lawyers since 2019 to divorce her husband, Bill Gates, although the announcement of the breakup was not disclosed until last week, as published on Monday by the newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal' (WSJ) . The New York newspaper cites "people familiar with the matter" and legal documents consulted by journalists from the newspaper who suggest that the divorce was something that came from afar, with the first contacts with lawyers in 2019.
The Gates announced on Monday of last week that they were divorcing, after more than 27 years of relationship in which they founded one of the most important charities in the world. The next day, the US media revealed the content of the documents of the divorce petition, filed by Melinda, in which she claimed that the marriage is "irretrievably broken", that "spousal maintenance is not necessary" and that the pact of separation will determine the division of their properties. The Gates have three children, all of them now of legal age, who after the announcement of the divorce went on a trip with their mother.
According to the 'Journal', one of the issues that could have precipitated the breakup is the relationship between Bill and the late disgraced tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison precisely in 2019. Epstein had been arrested after he accused him of sexually abusing and exploiting dozens of teenage girls both in his mansion in Manhattan (New York) and in his residence in Palm Beach (Florida) and his property in the Virgin Islands.
Philanthropy Meetings
In light of the documents reviewed by the 'Journal', Melinda and her legal advisers made several calls in October 2019 when 'The New York Times' reported that Bill Gates had met with Jeffrey Epstein on numerous occasions. In one of them, Gates stayed late into the night at Epstein's Manhattan home.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Gates, said in 2019 that the software mogul and Epstein had met several times to discuss philanthropy. "Bill Gates regrets meeting with Epstein and acknowledges that it was an error of judgment to do so," Arnold explained at the time. Through spokesmen, the billionaire has always regretted "each and every one of his encounters (with Epstein)."
Contacts since 2013
The version of the 'Journal', which cites a former employee of her foundation, points out that Melinda, a global defender of women and girls, would have already warned her husband that she did not feel comfortable with Epstein in 2013 and despite this Bill Gates and employees of his foundation remained in contact with the now-deceased tycoon in the years that followed.
Disagreements
In early 2020, the Gateses shocked the world when they said they would not be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of business and world leaders the power couple had attended for years. A few months later, on March 13, Gates announced that he was resigning from the boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway, the company of his friend Warren Buffet. According to his own explanations, he was leaving to focus more on his philanthropic efforts.
At the time, the Gateses were already in discussions to divide their immense wealth, according to the people familiar with the matter and the documents. Legal teams from both sides were already in private talks with a mediator to reach a "separation contract," the documents show. It also appears that the couple had not signed a prenuptial agreement when they married in 1994.
