Second to the pandemic was the news of Bill and Melinda Gates’ separation. It’s one of the most high-profile divorces of the century, surrounded by conjecture and speculations. Nearly three months after the couple made this announcement, the divorce finally came through on Monday. A judge in the Superior Court of the State of Washington for King County signed off on the divorce after 27 years of marriage. The couple has to resort to all sorts of measures for their sanity and much-needed privacy after separation.
While Melinda sought refuge in a $130,000 a night private Caribbean island with the kids, Bill Gates holed up in this ultra-luxurious California Golf resort. These things are now a thing of the past as the couple has divided their assets based on a separate contract with undisclosed terms. The settlement between Gates, who enjoys a net worth of more than $130billion, and his ex could leave Melinda with over $65billion, TMZ reported. The amount doesn’t come as a shock considering Bill Gates has transferred John Deere shares worth $850 million to Melinda, right at the beginning of their divorce announcement, bringing the total stock handover to $3 billion.
So what does the future hold for this power couple, or should I say power ex-couple? Melinda did not request to change her name for starters and did not request to receive spousal support from her now-ex-husband.
As it was already common knowledge, the Gates children will not be inheriting their parents’ wealth. Bill Gates had set a paltry sum of $10 million as an inheritance for each of their three kids from their vast fortune of $130 billion. The two have agreed to keep working together on philanthropy. Still, Melinda French Gates has been active in charity related to gender equality, alongside MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A lot of common ground there.
