Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, and his wife Melinda Gates have filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage. The billionaire benefactors, who are co-founders of one of the world’s largest, private, charitable foundations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have said that they have come to an agreement on how to split their assets. The couple have added that they would continue to work jointly at the foundation. In similar tweets,  

“We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.” the Gates couple have said in a statement. 

Mr Gates was formerly the world’s richest person and his fortune is estimated at well over $100 billion. How the couple end up settling their estate, and what impact it will have on the foundation will be closely watched, especially after another high-profile, Seattle-area, billionaire couple recently ended their marriage. 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos had finalised their divorce in 2019. MacKenzie Scott has since remarried and now focuses on her own philanthropy after receiving a 4 per cent stake in Amazon worth more than $36 billion.

The Gates couple were married in 1994 in Hawaii. They had met after she began working at Microsoft as a product manager in 1987. She had won Mr Gates’ heart after meeting at a work dinner, sharing a mutual love of puzzles and beating him at a math game.

The sprawling Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the most influential private foundation in the world, with an endowment worth nearly $50 billion. It has focused on global health and development and US education issues since incorporating in 2000.