Bill and Melinda Gates announced the end of their marriage with a joint statement published on social media. “After much reflection and a lot of work on our relationship, we have decided to end our marriage – reads the note published on Twitter – In the last 27 years we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to allow all people to lead healthy and productive lives.
We continued to share the conviction in that mission – continues the note from the Gates – and we will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple at this stage of our life. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life ».
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Bill Gates, 65, was in 1975 the main founder of Microsoft, the software IT giant in which he held top positions and of which he was also the first individual shareholder until May 2014. Since 2006 he has dedicated himself full time together to his wife Melinda to their private foundation for charity and scientific research, established since 2000.
Bill Gates resigned from the Microsoft board last year, just as the pandemic was spreading. And he devoted almost all of his time to the activities of the foundation led since 2000 together with his wife. The couple met at Microsoft, where Melinda held the role of marketing manager. The heritage of the Gates family is immense. The wealth of the Microsoft founder amounts to 133 billion dollars as of January 2021, that of his wife to 70 billion dollars. The remaining 1% of shares held by the couple in Microsoft, then, are worth over $ 7 billion, while the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation holds assets worth over $ 50 billion.