Bill and Melinda Gates reportedly agreed how to divide their property and assets before announcing their divorce on Monday, according to US media reports. The billionaire couple, who have been married for 27 years, signed a separation contract outlining how their estate would be split. But they did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement before their wedding in 1994. The couple run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has spent billions on charitable causes around the world. The former couple have pledged to continue to work together at the foundation once their divorce is finalised. Â Â If the couple split their wealth 50/50, Bill Gates would fall to 17th on the Forbes rich list.
SEATTLE Bill and Melinda Gates divorce will entail complex decisions about how to handle their wealth after 27 years of marriage. Here are details about their wealth and the couple s philanthropic activities. BILL GATES Bill Gates is the world s fourth-richest person with a net worth of US$130.5 billion, according to Forbes. Gates dropped out of Harvard University to co-found technology giant Microsoft with school friend Paul Allen in 1975. Gates owned 49% of Microsoft at its initial public offering in 1986, which made him an instant multi-millionaire. With Microsoft s explosive growth, he soon became the world s richest person. He has since lost that title, partly by donating money to philanthropic causes. He was also overtaken due to growth at other companies. Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk are No. 1 and 2 on the Forbes wealth list.
Bill and Melinda Gates filed for divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage.
In a joint statement the pair said: The marriage is irretrievably broken.
The two will continue to work together on their the nonprofit, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of one of the world s largest private charitable foundations, filed for divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage, saying they had reached an agreement on how to divide their assets.
In a joint petition for dissolution of marriage filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, the couple stated: The marriage is irretrievably broken.
Bill and Melinda Gates ending their marriage after 27 years
Tuesday May 04 2021
In this file photo taken on June 14, 2014 Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates shares the stage with his wife Melinda during the 123rd Stanford commencement ceremony in Stanford, California. AFP PHOTO
By REUTERS
Summary
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become one of the most powerful and influential forces in global public health, spending more than $50 billion over the past two decades to bring a business approach to combating poverty and disease.
The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines.
The foundation last year committed some $1.75 billion to COVID-19 relief.
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