What is clear and what is not of the final divorce agreement and the distribution of the fortune between Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have officially finalized their divorce, according to court records filed Monday in King County, Washington. Neither of them will receive spousal support and French Gates will not legally change her name.
The court approved Bill and Melinda's separation contract, which was signed by the couple before announcing their divorce in March. The document dictates how the couple will divide their assets, which include property, debts and "any post-secondary support" for their three children, who are all over the age of 18.
Since the deal hasn't been filed in court, it's unclear how they will split their massive fortune, though filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission have shown that Melinda has already received $3.3 billion worth of shares. ) from Bill.
Bill, co-founder of Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen, is currently the fourth richest person in the world [see full list here], according to FORBES, with an estimated net worth of 131.1 billion dollars (110.42 billion euros).
Bill and Melinda have pledged to donate the majority of their fortune to charitable causes, primarily through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has become the largest private foundation in the world. The couple say they are committed to running the foundation together after the divorce. However, the foundation announced last month that Melinda will resign in two years if it turns out that she and Bill cannot work together.
In their original divorce petition, Bill and Melinda said their relationship was "irretrievably broken." According to the Wall Street Journal, Melinda was distraught over Bill's meetings with late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein and she began consulting divorce attorneys in 2019.
A spokesperson for Bill also admitted that he had an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000, which the company's board investigated in 2019, also according to the Wall Street Journal. Bill resigned from the Microsoft board in March 2020 before the investigation was completed, although the spokesperson denies that he did so because of the investigation.
