Bill and Melinda Gates divorce latest: Couple to ‘split property according to separation contract as they had NO prenup’
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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.
As they have no prenup, it is understood the couple will split their property according to a separation contract.
Bill and Melinda have three children together - 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...
BILL 'SHOCKED' THAT MELINDA DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO WORK AFTER GIVING BIRTH
Bill Gates apparently was upset with Melinda after she told him she didn't want to immediately return to work after giving birth to their first child Jennifer.
wrote in her book that after she found out she was pregnant, she considered waiting to tell her husband because they were going on a trip, which Bill rarely relaxed enough to do.
"'When I sat Bill down for the baby talk one morning before work, he had two reactions. He was thrilled about the baby, and then he said: ‘You considered not telling me? Are you kidding?'”
She then told her now-billionaire husband that she didn’t want to keep working after giving birth.
“He was stunned,” she wrote, noting that he responded with, “What do you mean, you’re not going back?”
“And I said: ‘We’re lucky enough not to need my income. So this is about how we want to raise a family. You’re not going to downshift at work, and I don’t see how I can put in the hours I need to do a great job at work and raise a family at the same time.'"
BILL THE FARMER... AND SPORTS CAR DRIVER
Bill is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States, with deed for 242,000 acres spread across 18 states.
He also has a fleet of sports cars in his possession that could be split between him and wife Melinda Gates.
They include a rare $1.5 million Porsche 959, a Jaguar XJ6, a Ferrari 348 and an electric Porsche Taycan.
They also have a collection of writings and sketches by artist Leonardo Da Vinci, called the Codex, worth around $25 million.
The couple also owns a series of plush private planes, including two Gulfstream jets, two Bombardier Challenger 350s, a Cessna Seaplane and a collection of helicopters.
In addition, Gates owns an art collection which includes an oil painting by Winslow Homer purchased for $30 million and a George Bellows piece worth $23 million.
"HE KNEW HE'D MET HIS MATCH" WRITES MELINDA IN BOOK
In her 2019 book, The Moment Of Lift, Melinda wrote of how the two met at a business dinner when they both sat next to each other after both arriving late.
She also
"He urged me to read The Great Gatsby, his favorite novel, and I already had, twice," she wrote.
“Maybe that’s when he knew he’d met his match. His romantic match, he would say. I knew I’d met my match when I saw his music collection — lots of Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick.”
BILL WOULD BE 17TH RICHEST MAN IN 50-50 SPLIT OF ASSETS
Bill Gates, now the fourth richest man in the world, could become the 17th richest man in the world should he and Melinda split their assets 50-50.
The couple has a combined net worth of about $130 billion, and they didn't sign a prenup before marriage.
Washington state, where they live, requires that any wealth made during the marriage be split equally between the two parties if there is no prenup.
Both Bill and Melinda have hired three separate law firms to split their assets.
HOW WOULD THE GATES' SPLIT THEIR ASSETS?
The billionaire philanthropist couple, with a combined net worth of almost $130 billion, have already secured three lawyers each in how they would split their assets.
Rumors have surrounded how Bill, the fourth richest man in the world, and Melinda would split their assets, with many pointing to the couple's lack of a prenup when they got married.
As both live in Washington, the state has a specific law requiring an equal
WHAT IS CHARLIE MUNGER'S NET WORTH?
Munger has an estimated net worth of $2.1billion.
The executive is also a philanthropist and has reportedly donated $110million to the University of Michigan to fund a new "state of the art" residence hall.
He has also donated $65million to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, making it the largest donation in school’s history.
Munger and his second late wife Nancy previously donated 500 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock, then valued at $43.5million in 2004, to Stanford to build a graduate student housing complex.
WHO IS CHARLIE MUNGER?
Soon to be divorcé Bill Gates has hired Charles Munger to manage his billion-dollar split from Melinda.
The 97-year-old lawyer frequents the same social circle as he is close pals with billionaire Warren Buffett.
Charles Munger is a billionaire American businessman, investor, and real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett.
The duo are best friends and have known each other since Munger met Buffett at a dinner party in 1959.
Coincidentally, Munger worked at Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store, Buffet & Sons when he was a teenager.
WHAT DID BILL GATES AND HIS EX DO ON THEIR NC TRIPS?
While in North Carolina, the former couple would ride dune buggies, hang-glide, enjoy long walks on the beach, and "play putt-putt while discussing biotechnology" Bill revealed during the bombshell 1997 interview.
"We share our thoughts about the world and ourselves," Winblad explained.
"And we marvel about how, as two young overachievers, we began a great adventure on the fringes of a little-known industry and it landed us at the center of an amazing universe."
It isn't clear how long or if these yearly trips continued after this interview.
The article also notes that Gates had a picture Winblad on a trip to hanging in his office 24 years ago, as well as a snap of his wife with nine friends on a 1995 vacation to .
WHEN DID ANN WINBLAD DATE BILL GATES?
It was at her tech consultant position with Microsoft that Ann Winblad met Bill Gates, and they soon started seeing each other.
After meeting in 1984, the two dated for several years before eventually separating.
After dating the two continued their friendship, as they bonded over their shared love of science and technology.
Gates went on to marry Melinda French in 1994, while Winblad went on to be inducted into the Fortune Small Business Hall of Fame in 2000.
Despite Gates marriage, and his former romantic relationship with Winblad, the two continued to have annual get togethers.
BILL GATES TOOK HOLIDAYS WITH EX AFTER MARRYING MELINDA
Bill and Melinda Gates agreed that he could enjoy yearly getaways with his ex-girlfriend, whose picture he kept in his office, a 1997 article revealed.
Bill, 65, and venture capitalist , 70, dated in the eighties and broke up once he met Melinda in 1987 – but an interview in the late nineties indicated that their friendship continued after the split.
In a 1997 interview, Bill described calling up his ex-girlfriend to see what she thought about him tying the knot with Melinda.
"When I was off on my own thinking about marrying Melinda, I called Ann and asked for her approval," he said, after it emerged that he'd before getting hitched.
His ex confirmed that she approved of it and Melinda allowed her husband to continue his annual spring getaway with former flame Winblad at her beach house on the Outer Banks of , according to Time.
'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.
HOW OLD IS BILL GATES?
Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955 in Seattle.
That makes him 65 years old.
The business magnate married Melinda in 1994 before announcing their divorce on Monday.
BILL GATES' DIVORCE SPARKS WAVE OF MEMES
Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce announcement has prompted a wave of hilarious memes online as people consider how to proposition the newly single billionaire.
When the Microsoft founder – who is the fourth richest person in the world, worth a cool $124billion - confirmed their split on Twitter, it opened the online flood gates.
"Wishing bill gates a happy may 4th," read one user's picture of Bill with the message: "Happy Star Wars day. May divorce be with you."
“Are bill and melinda gates really going through a… you know… *windows 98 shutdown sound* divorce?” another.
“Bill Gates logging into his marriage this morning,” a third user, alongside the Microsoft error image reading: “Your marriage ran into a problem that it couldn’t handle, and now it needs to shut down.”
Credit: Twitter 
Credit: Twitter LORD SUGAR TAKES SWIPE AT BILL GATES OVER HIS DIVORCE
Lord Sugar took to Twitter to poke fun at Bill Gates after he announced he and wife Melinda are divorcing.
The businessman caused a stir on social media with his Microsoft-inspired swipe.
“Lawyers must be licking their lips,” Lord Sugar typed.
“I wonder if they will use Excel for the calculations. For sure they will use Word for legal communication most probably sent by email using Outlook.”
Some annoyed users hit back, with one responding: “Very quick to jump and make jokes about other people’s misfortunes.”
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 , 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.
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.
WHAT IS BILL GATES’ NET WORTH?
As of May 2021, Gates’ net worth was estimated at roughly more than $130.5billion, according to .
Forbes highlights:
- Bill Gates co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charitable foundation.
- In May 2020, the Gates Foundation said it would spend $300 million to fight the coronavirus pandemic, funding treatment, detection and vaccines.
- Gates has sold or given away much of his stake in Microsoft — he owns just over 1% of shares — and invested in a mix of stocks and other assets.
- To date, Gates has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.
INSIDE BILL GATES’ $80BILLION PROPERTY EMPIRE
Bill Gates’ $80billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing.
Properties up for grabs include a $123million mansion with a trampoline room and a $43million oceanfront mansion with a ten-person jacuzzi.
Gates, worth $130.5billion is one of the only eight people in the world worth over $100billion, and is the fourth richest man in the world.
Over the years, he has made lavish purchases which include a $40million private airplane and a large luxury car collection.
WHAT IS MELINDA GATES’ NET WORTH?
Melinda Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman and global advocate who is probably best known for her marriage to Bill Gates.
Melinda is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
According to the foundation’s website, she “shapes and approves strategies, reviews results, and sets the organization’s overall direction.
She works with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goals.”
The soon-to-be ex-wife of the Microsoft founder is worth $70billion, according to .
HOW LONG HAVE BILL AND MELINDA BEEN MARRIED?
Bill and Melinda Gates tied the knot on the Hawaiian Island of Lanai on January 1, 1994 – meaning they’ve been married for 27 years.
They have three children together – Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe.
Bill and Melinda met each other in 1987 at Microsoft. Bill had just founded the tech company, and Melinda, who was 24 at the time, had just gotten a job there.
They got married seven years later. 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.”
WHEN DID ANN WINBLAD DATE BILL GATES?
It was at her tech consultant position with Microsoft that Winblad met Gates, and they soon started seeing each other.
After meeting in 1984, the two dated for several years before eventually separating.
After dating the two continued their friendship, as they bonded over their shared love of science and technology.
Gates went on to marry Melinda French in 1994, while Winblad went on to be inducted into the Fortune Small Business Hall of Fame in 2000.
Despite Gates marriage, and his former romantic relationship with Winblad, the two continued to have annual get togethers.
WHO IS ANN WINBLAD?
Ann Winblad is a well-known and respected software industry entrepreneur and leader in technology.
is also known for her past with Microsoft co-founder .
Winblad, who is 70 years old, is a founding partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.
Hummer Winblad Venture Partners is a software and web focused venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California
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She then told her now-billionaire husband that she didn’t want to keep working after giving birth.
“He was stunned,” she wrote, noting that he responded with, “What do you mean, you’re not going back?”
“And I said: ‘We’re lucky enough not to need my income. So this is about how we want to raise a family. You’re not going to downshift at work, and I don’t see how I can put in the hours I need to do a great job at work and raise a family at the same time."'
The philanthropic couple, who founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation together in 2000, also ; their son Rory, 21, and daughter Phoebe, now 18.
BILL WAS HORRIFIED WHEN MELINDA DIDN'T WANT TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER GIVING BIRTH
Melinda Gates once wrote that her husband, Bill Gates, was shocked when she didn’t want to go back to work after she had her first baby.
That's according to her 2019 book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.
One of the areas they may have disagreed was on Melinda’s decision to return to work after giving birth to their first child, Jennifer, 25.
Melinda wrote in her book that after she found out she was pregnant, she considered waiting to tell her husband because they were going on a trip, which Bill rarely relaxed enough to do.
“'When I sat Bill down for the baby talk one morning before work, he had two reactions. He was thrilled about the baby, and then he said: ‘You considered not telling me? Are you kidding?"”
BILL GATES’ DIVORCE SENDS ANTI-VAXXERS INTO OVERDRIVE
Bill Gates’ divorce from his wife Melinda has sent anti-vaxxers, QAnon believers and a host of other conspiracy theorists into overdrive.
Microsoft boss Gates and his wife have become a lightning rod for nonsense online propaganda which insidiously spreads across social media.
His post on Twitter sparked a wave of new conspiracy theories – with his message being quote tweeted thousands of times by online crackpots. And this is despite Gates even going as far as to disabling comments, with it instead being shared more than 80,000 times.
Twitter was awash with posts pushing nonsense such as claims Gates is due to be arrested on charges of “crimes against humanity” and bizarre allegations that Melinda had actually be replaced years ago by an actor.
Others attempted to claim the divorce is a “distraction” from something evil going on behind the scenes, and others baselessly claimed that Gates divorce is a sham to help him “hide assets”.