BILL and Melinda Gates have called it quits after a 27-year marriage, the couple announced on Monday on Twitter.
With the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft as the fourth richest man in the world, and with the pair having a combined net worth of $130 billion, many are wondering how their assets would be divided in a divorce.
The Sun has seen their court documents, which makes clear they have no prenup. Instead, they have asked the judge to grant their separation date as the official divorce date.
The couple has three children, Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory Gates.
On Twitter on Monday, the two wrote: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,”
The tech mogul added that they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,”
He noted that they had raised "three incredible children" and worked to help people all over the world.
Bill and Melinda met at Microsoft. She had been a marketing manager at the software company.
The two got married in Hawaii in 1994 after Bill Gates had weighed the pros and cons on a blackboard.
Read our Bill Gates live blog below for the very latest news and updates…
- John Hall
A 27-YEAR MARRIAGE THAT STARTED AT MICROSOFT
Bill and Melinda Gates met each other in 1987 at Microsoft. Bill, the world's fourth-richest man, had just founded and was CEO for the tech company, and Melinda was a 24-year-old who had just gotten a job there.
They got married seven years later in 1994. A year later, Bill became the richest man in the entire world.
The two went on to found the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999 with the mission of fighting "poverty, disease and inequity around the world."
The foundation is considering one of the world's largest private charities, with the couple investing more than $1.75 billion to fight Covid-19.
Bill stepped down from his role on Microsoft's board of directors to focus more on the foundation last March.
- John Hall
BILL GATES EXPLAINS DECISION TO END MARRIAGE
After the world found out Bill and Melinda Gates were splitting up by Twitter, Bill explained how they came to their bombshell decision.
"Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable people to lead healthy, productive lives," he wrote.
"We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our 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."
- John Hall
“THIS MARRIAGE IS IRRETRIEVABLY BROKEN”
The Sun has seen Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce filing, with a line reading their marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
Court documents show the couple signed a separation agreement where they are asking the judge to honor as their date of divorce.
It also states neither Melinda, who filed the document, nor Bill, the respondent, have requested fees or an order of protection.
Unsurprisingly, no spousal support is requested. However, the couple’s property and finances are asked to be divided between the two of them.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL, THE MAN WITH NEED FOR SPEED
Bill Gates has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of luxury cars – and supposedly has enough tickets to show proof of it.
When Microsoft was based in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the early days of the company, Gates bought a Porsche 911 and raced it in the desert.
According to a 1997 Time article, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had to bail him out of jail after he got three speeding tickets when he drove from Albuquerque to the company's new home in Seattle.
Gates also bought a Porsche 930 Turbo he called the "rocket," a Mercedes, a Jaguar XJ6, a $60,000 Carrera Cabriolet 964, a $380,000 Porsche 959, and a Ferrari 348 that he called "dune buggy" after spinning it in the desert.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL GATES LOVES GOLF AND INTELLECTUAL GAMES
In a 1997 Time article about the world's then most richest man, those near Bill Gates spoke about the Microsoft founder's love for golf after marriage.
"Bill got into golf in the same addictive way he gets into anything else," said Steve Ballmer, who took over from Gates as Microsoft CEO from 2000 to 2014.
As Gates, Ballmer and his friends would go out to celebrate their friends' bachelor parties, the two would eat at Denny's, go to the movies, and play mind games like trivia and Boggle.
As Gates and others wed, Ballmer said he turned to golf, because "it gets his competitive juice flowing."
- Catherina Gioino
BILL ONLY PERSON ON EARTH WHO 'DOESN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT WIFE'
Although Bill and Melinda are splitting after 27 years of marriage, a friend said the two are always going to be good friends.
"It doesn't feel like there's any inequality, even though he's the one who started Microsoft and not her," said Mike Slade, a friend of the couple.
"He appreciates everything about her as opposed to complaining about her."
"I've never heard him complain about her. He's the only person I know on this earth who I've never heard complain about his wife," Slade added.
In the first episode of the 2019 Netflix docuseries Inside Bill's Brain, Bill referred to Melinda as "totally my partner."
- Catherina Gioino
MELINDA RECOUNTS HOW BILL CAME TO MARRY HER
The married couple of 27 years announced their divorce on Monday, but that hasn't stopped people from sharing clips of the couple discussing how they met at a business dinner.
Melinda said of her husband Bill in a 2019 Netflix docuseries, Inside Bill's Brain, that she didn't know if Bill would be serious about marriage.
"I was new to Microsoft. There were a lot of men there," she said. "You know, you're still looking around, you're still figuring it out," she said. Earlier in that episode, Bill had been contemplating combining his love for her and his passion for Microsoft.
Bill agreed.
"When we first met, she had other boyfriends and I had Microsoft. We were like, 'Hey we're not really serious about each other are we? We're not going to demand each other's time,' " Bill said.
"But after about a year of that, sort of to our surprise, certainly my surprise, we said, 'Hey, I love you,' and she said she loved me and then it was like, wow. Now what's going to happen?" Bill said.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL WISHES HE THANKED MELINDA MORE
In the 2019 Netflix docuseries, Inside Bill's Brain, Bill Gates said he wished he thanked his wife Melinda more, just two years before the couple announced their split following their 27-year marriage.
The director of the three-part series asked Bill in the final episode: "If you got hit by a bus today, died, what's the one thing, the one thing you said, 'God, I wish I had done that I haven't done?'"
And Bill responds: "You know, thanking Melinda."
- Catherina Gioino
BILL "LEARNED" TO BE EQUAL, MELINDA LEARNED TO "STEP UP" TO BE EQUAL
In her 2019 book, The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates shared an argument she and Bill had over the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's mission statement.
"It got hot," she wrote as they butted heads over the 2013 annual letter.
"Bill said the process we had for the Annual Letter had been working well for the foundation for years, and he didn't see why it should change."
Melinda wrote that the two decided Bill would write a main letter for the report while Melinda would write one on contraceptives. The following year, Melinda wrote about myths that "block progress for the poor," while Bill wrote two others.
By 2015, they both signed one letter.
"He's had to learn how to be an equal, and I've had to learn how to step up and be an equal," Melinda wrote, adding she was naturally "shy" and "private."
- Catherina Gioino
BILL "LEARNED" TO BE EQUAL, MELINDA LEARNED TO "STEP UP" TO BE EQUAL
In her 2019 book, The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates shared an argument she and Bill had over the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's mission statement.
"It got hot," she wrote as they butted heads over the 2013 annual letter.
"Bill said the process we had for the Annual Letter had been working well for the foundation for years, and he didn't see why it should change."
Melinda wrote that the two decided Bill would write a main letter for the report while Melinda would write one on contraceptives. The following year, Melinda wrote about myths that "block progress for the poor," while Bill wrote two others.
By 2015, they both signed one letter.
"He's had to learn how to be an equal, and I've had to learn how to step up and be an equal," Melinda wrote, adding she was naturally "shy" and "private."
- Catherina Gioino
GATES KIDS TO INHERIT ONLY $10 MILLION
After Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce documents revealed the couple never had a prenup, many are wondering how the couple, with a combined net worth of $130 billion, will split their assets.
Gates, the world's fourth-richest man, has spoken in the past about how each of his three children will only inherit about $10 million of his fortune.
When asked about rumors that he would only leave his three children — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — $10million each during a Reddit AMA session in 2013, Gates explained that it was for their benefit.
"I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them," he said.
He and Melinda share three children and founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to address several major global issues.
The couple has donated $45billion through the foundation since its inception, including $1.75 billion to fighting Covid-19.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL'S NOT ALONE – OTHER TECH FOUNDERS WENT THROUGH DIVORCE
The world's fourth-richest man finds himself in good company among other rich tech giant founders who went through a divorce.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, announced his divorce from MacKenzie two years ago after their 25 years of marriage.
The statement went on: "If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again," Bezos wrote at the time.
Tesla's Elon Musk, the third richest man on earth, also went through two divorces and a number of heartaches before dating Grimes.
He wrote: “It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day," he said after his divorce from British actress Talulah Riley.
- Catherina Gioino
WHAT IS MELINDA'S NETWORTH?
After court documents were released showing Melinda's request for divorce from Bill, many have wondered how much money will be divided between the star power couple with a networth of about $130 billion.
The soon-to-be ex-wife of the Microsoft founder is worth $70billion, according to Spear's.
Bill and Melinda chair their non-profit organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is considered the world's largest private charitable foundation.
They have donated over $45.5billion to charitable causes over time, and in 2019 donated $589million to charity.
- Catherina Gioino
"THIS MARRIAGE IS IRRETRIEVABLY BROKEN"
The Sun has seen Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce filing, with a line reading their marriage was "irretrievably broken."
Court documents show the couple signed a separation agreement where they are asking the judge to honor as their date of divorce.
It also states neither Melinda, who filed the document, nor Bill, the respondent, have requested fees or an order of protection.
Unsurprisingly, no spousal support is requested. However, the couple's property and finances are asked to be divided between the two of them.
- Catherina Gioino
PAPERS FILED FOR DIVORCE WITH NO PRENUP
Bill and Melinda Gates have filed for divorce, and court documents show there is no prenup agreement.
According to TMZ, which has seen the court documents, the Gates have filed for divorce, saying their marriage is "irretrievably broken."
The document asks for the judge to make their pre-signed separation date as their divorce date. The separation papers were not included in the divorce document.
The two have asked for a trial date in April 2022, but will likely settle this without a trial.
- Catherina Gioino
JENNIFER GATES RESPONDS TO PARENTS' SPLIT
Jennifer Gates, the 25-year-old daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, posted on Instagram that her family has been experiencing “a challenging stretch of time."
"Hi friends, by now many of have heard the news that my parents are separating," she wrote.
"I’m still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as my family members at this time and am grateful for the space to do so."
She added that she won't personally comment on her parents' separation but said she thanked those who sent her messages and kind words during this time.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL GATES, THE FOURTH RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD
The Microsoft co-founder, the world’s fourth-richest man with a networth of $124 billion, currently owns 1.37 percent of Microsoft’s outstanding shares, which are worth more than $26 billion.
Bill created a pledge with Melinda and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett called the Giving Pledge, which would involve anyone who signed on to give more than half of their wealth to charitable causes.
The couple decided to move $20 billion worth of Microsoft stock to their foundation as they wanted to increase their commitment to philanthropy. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has more than $51 billion in assets and has invested more than $1.75 billion to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bill is the world's fourth richest person, behind Amazon's Jeff Bezos, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
- Catherina Gioino
BIL'S AND MELINDA'S PROJECTS THROUGH RECENT YEARS
The Gates have been running the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since 2000, when Bill stepped down as Microsoft CEO to run the foundation full time.
In recent years, the couple began focusing on other areas of interest.
In 2015, Bill established Breakthrough Energy, an initiative intended to show climate change, which also includes a venture arm.
Melinda that same year created Pivotal Ventures, a company that makes investments to increase equality.
For the foundation, the couple published annual letters regarding the foundation's work.
The latest one, published in January, spoke to the impact of the pandemic and their efforts in bringing vaccines worldwide.
“For us, the days became a blur of video meetings, troubling news alerts, and microwaved meals,” they wrote.
- Catherina Gioino
MELINDA "IS A TRULY EQUAL PARTNER" BILL SAYS
Marking 25 years of marriage in 2019, Bill and Melinda sat down for the Netflix documentary Inside Bill's Brain and spoke about their marriage.
"In the case of Melinda, it is a truly equal partner," Bill said. "She’s a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is interested in science.
"She is better with people than I am. She’s a tiny bit less hardcore about knowing, you know, immunology, than I am," he joked.
For Valentine's Day in 2020, Bill Gates posted an Instagram photo showing him standing with his arm around Melinda, with the caption reading "I couldn’t ask for a better partner on this journey."
Credit: Getty - Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA MET BECAUSE THEY WERE LATE TO DINNER
The star power couple originally met by chance after both arrived late to a dinner and sat in the only two empty seats.
In her book, The Moment of Lift, Melinda described how they were both invited to a business dinner and ended up sitting next to each other.
"I showed up late, and all the tables were filled except one, which still had two empty chairs side by side. I sat in one of them. A few minutes later, Bill arrived and sat in the other," she wrote in the book.
Melinda was a product manager as the only woman in the first ever class of MBA graduates that joined the company.
She then rose the corporate ladder to become general manager of information products, and eventually met the CEO, Bill.
The two then married in Hawaii in 1994.
Credit: Getty Images – Getty - Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA DISH ON HOW THEY DECIDED TO GET MARRIED
A year before Bill and Melinda Gates got married in 1994, they had a "whiteboard" discussion on the prospect of marriage.
"His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married," Melinda said in the 2019 documentary Inside Bill's Brain.
The whiteboard, however, was not symbolic of the marriage, with Bill saying in the 2019 doc that he took marriage "very seriously."
“She had other boyfriends, and I had Microsoft,” Bill said. “We were like, ‘Hey we are not really serious about each other, are we? We are not going to demand each other’s time.'"
“I was new to Microsoft, there were a lot of men there and … you are still looking around," Melinda agreed.
- Catherina Gioino
BEING WITH BILL WAS "INCREDIBLY HARD," MELINDA SAID IN 2019
There were times that being married to Bill Gates were "incredibly hard," Melinda said in 2019 when the couple celebrated their 25th anniversary together.
“When he was having trouble making the decision about getting married, he was incredibly clear that it was not about me, it was about ‘Can I get the balance right between work and family life?'" she told The Sunday Times in 2019.
In the 2019 documentary Inside Bill's Brain, Melinda described how Bill came to the conclusion of getting married.
"His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married," Melinda said in the documentary.
Credit: Getty - Catherina Gioino
A 27-YEAR MARRIAGE THAT STARTED AT MICROSOFT
Bill and Melinda Gates met each other in 1987 at Microsoft. Bill, the world's fourth-richest man, had just founded and was CEO for the tech company, and Melinda was a 24-year-old who had just gotten a job there.
They got married seven years later in 1994. A year later, Bill became the richest man in the entire world.
The two went on to found the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999 with the mission of fighting "poverty, disease and inequity around the world."
The foundation is considering one of the world's largest private charities, with the couple investing more than $1.75 billion to fight Covid-19.
Bill stepped down from his role on Microsoft's board of directors to focus more on the foundation last March.
Credit: Getty - Catherina Gioino
BILL GATES EXPLAINS DECISION TO END MARRIAGE
After the world found out Bill and Melinda Gates were splitting up by Twitter, Bill explained how they came to their bombshell decision.
"Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable people to lead healthy, productive lives," he wrote.
"We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our 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."
- Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA GATES SPLIT AFTER 27 YEARS OF MARRIAGE
Billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates announced their separation on Twitter earlier today, shocking the world after calling their 27-year marriage over.
The Microsoft co-founder, the world's fourth richest man with a networth of $124 billion, posted the news to his Twitter account.
"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," read his tweet.
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