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After 27 Years, Bill And Melinda Gates Are Calling It Quits
Philanthropic couple Bill and Melinda Gates are ending their 27-year marriage. The two announced their decision jointly via their separate Twitter accounts. “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” said the joint statement.
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Continue
The couple formed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which oversees the charitable ventures that the couple channeled their money into.
“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,” they said. Despite the breakup, Bill and Melinda Gates confirmed they will continue to work together.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the world’s largest charitable one of its kind. The organization aims to fight poverty, disease, and inequity by giving away billions of dollars annually in direct grants.
For the ongoing pandemic, the BMGF earmarked more than $1.75 billion. This includes initiatives to manufacture 100 million doses of vaccines for poorer countries.
In addition, Melinda Gates also created Pivotal Ventures in 2015, an investment company. It works to help advance social progress in the US.
William “Bill” Gates III
Gates, 65, seems intent on winding down on his ventures. Last year, he announced he is leaving the boards of both Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft.
In particular, Microsoft is the hugely successful software company he started in 1975. According to Factset, gates’ personal stake in Microsoft is worth an estimated $26 billion.
From the late 70s to the 90s, Gates turned Microsoft into one of the most dominant companies in the world. In fact, Microsoft Windows accounted for over 90% of the operating system market share back in 1995.
By 2000, he gave up his role as CEO to colleague Steve Ballmer. Then, he began scaling down his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company. In 2014, he relinquished his role as chairman and contented himself as a regular board member.
Melinda French Gates
Meanwhile, Melinda Gates grew up in Dallas and earned a master’s in business administration at Duke University. She joined Microsoft and worked on developing multimedia products, including Encarta.
Four months after starting at Microsoft, she met Bill at a New York dinner event. Months later, Bill asked her on a date when he chanced upon her at the Microsoft parking lot.
For the Foundation, Melinda Gates plays a high-profile public role often on par with Bill. In particular, she represents the organization both in remote places and in high society events.
The Giving Pledge
Forbes lists Gates as the world’s fourth wealthiest person with a net worth of $130.5 billion. The only people richer than him are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In addition, a personal investment firm, Cascade Investment LLC, handles the Gates family wealth.
Along with Warren Buffett, Bill started the Giving Pledge in 2010 to encourage billionaires like themselves to donate money. Outside of contributing, the Giving Pledge also gives donors the choice on how to spend their money. Currently, the Giving Pledge lists 200 active donors from 25 countries.
Watch the Bloomberg Markets and Finance video reporting that Bill and Melinda Gates to Divorce:
Loading ...Did you expect Bill and Melinda Gates to separate after 27 years of marriage? Do you support the plan that the two will still work together at the foundation they built?
Let us know what you think about the charitable initiatives made by the two. Share your comments in the comment section below.
21 Comments
It’s no one’s business
Another elitist who thinks he is God, and is in control. Too bad for the marriage, probably good for her.
I really think that their lives concerning this should be private and just to their respective families period.
Why do people bother to get married anymore. If you don’t believe in God why do it. Just live together until you get tired of each other and then hit the road. The whole marriage thing has become a meaningless joke and the wedding industry is the biggest rip off there s.
My two cents is that married folks are two different personalities.
When married the difference is a wake up call. The two are expected to live happily ever after. Not so for everyone. So these folks are calling it quits, why do they have to be different? Unfortunately they are out there bc of ‘money’, otherwise they are really like everyone else. It is expected from these folks to share their ‘money’.. Taxes are for all as well. Their wealthy status and need for control puts them out there as well for other less fortunate to put in their two cents as well.
As sick as Bill is with his unbalanced thinking, I would leave him too. BUT WHO CARES
Their lives, their mess, their family. We the people need to just stay out of it. Not really our business. Yes it is sad that marriage does not last for most people in this country. Society’s fault or our own selfish interests?
who cares?????????? Just because they have money the media makes a big issue about it.. Let’s talk about something more important in this world Like the Federal deficit???
G
Now they should get the hell out of the US.That would be a great ending for them
The kids are grown; time for Melinda to hit the road. Yack must be pretty difficult to sleep with such a repugnant worm.
Mrs Gates must be a very slow learner if it took her 27 years to figure out that Geekgates is an emotionally stunted elitist who has less of a connection to the average American than shit does to Shinola. She shoulda pushed him outta the boat at sea and saved her and all the rest of us from his one-world government schemes!
It must be nice to have money. More couples would probably split if they could afford to. With money in your pocket there is not much you can’t do. Money is the most important thing in the world today. If you have money , the sky’s the limit. Hey Bill, do you have a million to spare because I could really use it. My dream is to have more money than I need just like Bill and Melinda.They donate just because it’s a write off. Give me a million and not be able to write it off, now that’s charity.They make me sick all that money and still not satisfied.Give me a break.
The anti-Christ doesn’t need a wife any longer!
She probably discovered the intimate details of his plan to depopulate the planet with poisonous vaccines, monopolize the food supply by buying all the farmland and replacing low-skilled human labor with AI. For the good of the people and the environment of course.
“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.” -Camus
Bill Gates is an IDIOT.
I am sorry for the divorce of the Gates! I wish they would have gone for counseling.
We are 72 yrs old and have been married 52 years! It has not always been easy. We had 5 children and now have 13 grandchildren.
We made our marriage vows before God and many witnesses. We committed to making our marriage work because we have our faith in common. Taking problems to the Lord, in prayer, has helped us!
After 52 years we are thinking of going to counseling to learn better communications skills. We only want to improve our communication skills, and our differences. I pray that the Gates would reconsider and seek professional counseling.
Does anyone really give a shit what these two spoiled rotten imbeciles do or say?
I believe that Bill Gates is the anti-christ, he is evil, he wants to get rid of as many humans as possible by any means possible. Vaccines that are designed to destroy mankind, not right away but within 6 months to 3 years everyone who took the vaccine will die and not naturally. This man believes he is above the law, can kill as many people as he deems necessary and will get away with it. He has already killed thousands in Africa and other in other countries where they believe he is a humanitarian and is trying to help them, while instead he is plotting his next victims. He believes he is greater than God. Someone has to stop this evil man.
Where did you get the 6 month – 3 years idea? You state it as if it were a fact so if it is not true it is a lie and you are a false prophet. All truth is God’s truth whether from the Bible or Creation (science). Learn from Galileo.
They r so evil i dont even know how to reply. May God remove the veil from their eyes and hearts and show them what evil really is better yet show them how good and great God really is. I think their marriage is the least thing they should be concerned about
Here is a great example of a society that has no clue in real problems to its people. For any platform of communication to waste thought on worthless questions on someone’s personal life .it means nothing to no one .A better question on gates should go somthing like this .What is your opinion on gates wantjng to help out man kind from global warming by planning and financing his thiughts of shooting substance into our earths ozone to add a man made chemical sheild to drop the earth’s temperature.What ! Really ! Now this should be on every public forum there is to understand .Just what the hell is this all about ?