Bill and Melinda Gates arrive at the Longines Los Angeles Masters at Los Angeles Convention Center on September 27, 2014, in Los Angeles, California (Getty Images)
According to a Sunday report by The New York Times, those with knowledge of Bill and his companies and financial dealings told the publication that the Microsoft founder had pursued women who worked for him at Microsoft and at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation while the couple was together.
Dismissive towards Melinda Gates
In addition to that, sources familiar with Bill s endeavors also told the publication that he was at times dismissive of Melinda in workplace meetings at the Gates Foundation. Melinda reportedly now goes by Melinda French Gates.
In this screengrab, (L-R) Melinda Gates and Bill Gates speak during One World: Together At Home presented by Global Citizen on April, 18, 2020. (Getty Images)
What will happen to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?
According to its financial statements, the Gates Foundation has almost $50 billion in assets and has been the world s largest private philanthropic organisation for the past 20 years. During the years 2018 and 2019, it distributed around $5 billion in grants. The news of their separating sent shockwaves through the philanthropic community, where the foundation wields significant power.
âBill and Melinda Gates really pioneered a new form of large-scale philanthropy,â David Callahan, founder, and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a digital site that covers the world of philanthropy and fundraising, to NBC news. âThey are probably the most consequential figures in philanthropy in recent history, if not ever.â
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda pose for photographers outside Buckingham Palace, on March 2, 2005, in London, England. Bill received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to UK enterprise (Getty Images)
Melinda recalled how after a year of dating, the couple had reached a crossroad in their relationship when Bill had to make a decision. One day, she walked into her boyfriend s bedroom and found him making a list on a whiteboard. His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married, Melinda told Netflix producers at the time, laughing at the memory. Eventually, the couple tied the knot in Lanai, Hawaii, when Gates was 38 and Melinda was 29. In the year 2000, Melinda formalized the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has since forked out $45B, addressing issues such as climate change, gender equality and poverty.
(Photo : Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 11: Billionaire Bill Gates, chairman and founder of Microsoft Corp., and his wife Melinda attend the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 11, 2015 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Many of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful business people from media, finance, and technology attend the annual week-long conference which is in its 33rd year.
While Bill Gates and Paul Allen were the main proponents and founders of one of the largest software companies in the world, it was also known that Melinda French-Gates has also worked in the company. Her position here was a former general manager in the starting company, working alongside her future husband whom she married in 1994.