Microsoft co-founder and 16-time world’s richest man, Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda have decided to go their separate ways after 27 years of marriage and having shared three (3) kids.
Bill Gates disclosed this in a tweet via his official handle.
The global business magnate and tech guru released a statement saying:
After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, 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.
Bill Gates and Melinda Gates
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” the statement read.
In what dropped as a bombshell, comments have been turned off for the tweet, which means people can only react by quotes and direct tweets.
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The power couple, who met at Microsoft got married in 1994 and later on decided to give away more than half of their wealth.
This saw the pair launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, an American private foundation focused on helping people in developing countries lead healthy, productive lives as well as providing relief and timely aid out of hunger and extreme poverty.
As of today, the foundation says it has over $51 billion in assets.
The financial implications of the decision are still not clear, but Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $131 billion. He also owns 1.37% of Microsoft’s outstanding shares, which are valued at over $26 billion.
The Gates’ shocking announcement comes two years after CEO Amazon, Jeff Bezos revealed that he and his wife, MacKenzie, were getting divorced in 2019.
Featured Image Credit: Fox Business
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