Bill And Melinda Gates To Divorce

Bill and Melinda Gates are to divorce, in what could prove to an expensive exercise for one of the world’s richest men.

Bill Gates is the former CEO and co-founder of software giant Microsoft, and is a well known philanthropist. He is also a co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which does a lot good in the world, such as almost eliminating polio and reducing death from malaria.

Gates is also a well informed health and environmental expert, and in the past had repeatedly warned the world was woefully underprepared for an inevitable pandemic, having issued very public warnings in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Gates divorce

The news that two are to divorce was revealed on the Twitter account of Bill Gates.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have decided to end our marriage,” Gates said in the joint statement.

“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,” they wrote. “We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”

“We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” they concluded.

Bill Gates and Melinda French began dating in 1987 when Melinda was working at Microsoft.

The two married seven years later in 1994.

There is no word on what will happen to the famous Xanadu 2.0 mansion situated on Lake Washington in Medina, Washington, that was built by Bill Gates back in the 1990s.

The mansion is thought to be worth $150 million and was built from the ground up incorporating technology and energy saving techniques.

Expensive divorce

The divorce for Bill Gates is likely to be an expensive exercise.

The former wife (Mackenzie) of Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, ended up with a $38 billion settlement, instantly propelling her into the ranks of the world’s richest individuals.

Both Bill and Melinda have pledged to give away most of their wealth, but will leave their kids enough money to “strike a balance where they have the freedom to do anything but not a lot of money showered on them so they could go out and do nothing,” as Gates has said previously.

Besides their well known philanthropy work, Bill Gates has also helped fund the development of off-grid power and waste management systems for developing nations.

This includes a machine that turns human waste into drinkable water and free electricity.