After 27 years of marriage, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda announced their divorce in early May. Contacts with Jeffrey Epstein are said to have played a role.
Seattle – The divorce of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, which the couple made public last week, has been on the horizon for several years, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. The US financial newspaper reports that Melinda Gates is said to have consulted divorce lawyers for the first time in 2019. According to sources from the couple’s environment, the marriage already faced “insurmountable problems” back then.
So far there is no official reason for the separation of Melinda and Bill Gates. According to the Wall Street Journal, meetings between Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein should also have played a role. According to reports in the New York Times, Gates is said to have met several times with the now world-famous sex offender Epstein since 2011, when the first criminal investigation was underway against him. According to information from the Wall Street Journal, Gates’ wife Melinda was angry about the meeting with Epstein even then.
Meeting between Gates and Jeffrey Epstein as possible reason for divorce
According to research by the New York Times, the sporadic contacts between Gates and Epstein are said to have continued into 2014. Gates, however, denied a close relationship with the former US investment banker: He met Epstein, but does not maintain any friendship with him. After the meeting became known, Gates spokeswoman Bridgitt Arnold emphasized that Gates and Epstein should only have exchanged views on topics of philanthropy. At the end of the business relationship, she is quoted as saying: “Over time, Bill Gates and his team had discovered that Epstein’s ideas were not compatible with Gates’ values and all contacts were terminated.” Epstein was found dead in his cell in a New York prison in 2019.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to continue despite divorce
The couple, who have been running the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since 1999, announced the breakup last week via Twitter. A jointly issued report said the decision was made after “careful consideration and a lot of work on our relationship”.
The couple, who have been married since 1994 and have three children together, want to continue running the joint foundation to the best of their ability despite the separation. The charity is the largest private foundation in the world, with deposits currently totaling approximately $ 46.8 billion. (Sandra Kathe)
Picture list: © LUDOVIC MARIN
