Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Apr 26, 2024

Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced. Here's a look inside their 27-year marriage, from meeting at work, to having 3 kids, to spending $45 billion on philanthropy.

Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced. Here's a look inside their 27-year marriage, from meeting at work, to having 3 kids, to spending $45 billion on philanthropy.

Bill and Melinda Gates are worth over $100 billion and raised three kids during their 27 year long marriage.

Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced.

The billionaire Microsoft founder announced his plans to separate with his wife of 27 years on Monday.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," Bill Gates said in a tweet. "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 and Melinda Gates have been married since 1994, raised three kids, are worth $130.5 billion, and run a namesake philanthropic enterprise boasting a $49.8 billion endowment.

Here's a look at the marriage between Bill and Melinda:

Bill and Melinda first met in 1987, when she joined Microsoft as a product manager.

Bill asked her if she could go out "two weeks from tonight" — to which Melinda replied, "Two weeks from tonight? I have no idea what I'm doing two weeks from tonight.' And I said, 'You're not spontaneous enough for me."

Melinda gave Bill her number and told him to call her closer to the day he had in mind.


Instead, he called her up later that night with a wry question: "Is this spontaneous enough for you?" Turns out, it was.


Melinda and Bill dated for seven years before they wed. Melinda told Fortune her mom didn't think that seeing the CEO was a good idea in the beginning.


But the couple didn't listen. Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback reported they "kept a low profile at work and asked colleagues and family members to respect their privacy."


"When I look back, Bill was the same kind of guy I was hanging out with in college," Melinda told Fortune. "I had a lot of respect for them, and they had respect for me."


"I was definitely attracted to his brilliant mind, but beyond that, his curiosity," she told Fortune. "And he has a huge sense of fun. I love that wry side of him."


After they were engaged, Bill and Melinda traveled to Africa in late 1993. During the trip, they encountered people in extreme poverty.


On a walk on a beach in Zanzibar, Melinda told TED in an interview, the couple "started to talk about" how they might use their fortune to help others.


That's when the idea that would ultimately become the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation began to take root.


"It's not fair that we have so much wealth when billions of others have so little," Melinda wrote, in one of the couples' annual letters.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Melinda Gates.

The couple married in 1994 in what was then Manele Bay Hotel in Hawaii. They tied the knot by the "par-3 12th hole" on the property's golf course, according to Forbes. The event reportedly cost $1 million.


To keep the wedding private, Bill booked all the rooms in the hotel, along with all of the helicopters on the island of Maui to "prevent unwanted visitors from flying over," Forbes reported.


Bill's parents gifted the newlyweds with a sculpture of two birds, sitting side-by-side and staring at the horizon. "It's still in front of our house," Melinda wrote in the couples' 2018 annual letter. "I think of it all the time, because fundamentally we’re looking in the same direction."


The next year, the couple's lavish home — nicknamed "Xanadu 2.0" — was completed in Medina, Washington. The mansion's estimated worth was $124 million in 2016.


The couple has raised two daughters and a son — and didn't let any of them own a cellphone until they were 14, according to The Mirror.


Bill told Rolling Stone the children were raised Catholic. "We've raised our kids in a religious way," he said. "They've gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in."


Bill and Melinda would read books from a range of genres to their kids as they grew up, from "Guess How Much I Love You" to "Fahrenheit 451."


Gates has said his wife is a driving force when it comes to bringing the family together. "Melinda is very creative about helping me find chances to spend time with the kids," Gates wrote in a 2017 Reddit AMA. "Even just driving them to school is a great time to talk to them."


Each of the Gates' kids will inherit about $10 million of their parents' $98.1 billion fortune, while much of the rest will go to charitable causes.


"We want to strike a balance where they have the freedom to do anything but not a lot of money showered on them so they could go out and do nothing," Bill told TED.


The Gates also support their kids in other ways. The couple spent $37 million purchasing a string of Wellington, Florida properties in 2016. The reason? Their daughter Jennifer is a nationally ranked show jumper, and the Florida town is the equestrian capital of the US.


Melinda has said her relationship with her husband has changed over time. "We've had to change to really be coequals," she said. "It's not something that immediately happens overnight, but we're both committed to it."


Melinda said the couple still did the dishes together every night to keep the partnership equal.


According to Melinda, Bill was used to being in charge from his Microsoft days when they first started the foundation.


But these days, Bill and Melinda work as partners at the foundation. They both received Presidential Medals of Freedom in 2016 from President Barack Obama for their efforts.


They work to make sure their schedules are synchronized, complimentary, and balanced. "Melinda and I look over our schedules a lot to make sure we are balancing things well," Gates wrote in a 2018 Reddit AMA.


In response to a question about how the couple handles arguments, Melinda jokingly wrote "we never disagree" in the Gates' 2018 annual letter.


"Our occasional disagreements these days are over tactics. Because I've been a public figure longer, and because I’m a man, some people assume I am making the big decisions. That's never been the case," Bill wrote in the Gates Foundation's annual letter for 2018.


Melinda added that the couple avoids serious disagreements by sharing fundamental values, trust, and a sense of open-mindedness.


Warren Buffett, who is close with the couple, told Fortune that Bill was "smart as hell, obviously," but that "in terms of seeing the whole picture," Melinda was smarter.


In a Reddit AMA, Gates disclosed that his wife and Buffett were his two favorite celebrities...

Warren Buffett speaks to the media with Bill and Melinda Gates June 26, 2006 at a news conference where Buffett spoke about his financial gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York City.

... followed by Bono and Jimmy Carter. He added that Nelson Mandela was the most impressive political leader he's ever met.

Musician Bono from U2 reacts at the opening of the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

When it comes to their working partnership, Bill wrote that the perception that Melinda is "the heart" of the organization is a bit of a stereotype, in the 2018 annual letter.


"Just as she knows I'm more emotional than people realize, I know she's more analytical than people realize. When I get really enthusiastic about something, I count on her to make sure I'm being realistic."


"Melinda and I believe that everyone deserves the chance for a healthy and productive life — and so with the help of our amazing partners, we are working to find innovative ways to help people in need all over the world," Bill wrote during one of his Reddit AMAs.


Bill announced on May 3 the couple made the decision to end their marriage.


"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," Bill Gates said in a tweet. "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."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Reports in Gaza: 5 dead from the impact of aid packages dropped by the USA
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
China Criticizes US for Vetoing UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, instead proposing its own six-week ceasefire plan contingent upon the release of all hostages held by Hamas
Prince William Urges End to Gaza Conflict
Saudi Arabia ranks first in UN index for e-government services in MENA
Israel has gone ‘beyond self-defence’ in Gaza, says Labour’s Streeting
EU Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza Conflict
Israel Records 20% Drop In GDP, War In Gaza Is The Reason
Saudi Arabia's FDI Inflows Grow with New International Standards
Venture Capitals Power Up Across MENA Region
Saudi Arabia Introduces Terms for 30-Year Income Tax Exemption for Multinational Companies
Saudi FM: Establishing Palestinian state is only pathway for Mideast stability
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Elon Musk's Starlink Gets License For Israel, Parts Of Gaza
Influencers Exploit X Platform for Profit Amidst Israel-Gaza Conflict
PM Modi Announces Opening Of New CBSE Office In Dubai
International Criminal Court's Chief "Deeply Concerned" By Rafah Bombing
January Funding for MENA Startups Totals $86.5 Million
Saudi Arabia accelerates digital economy growth through Nvidia partnership
Indian female military officers commend Saudi Arabia's progress and women's empowerment
Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City headquarters of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel deploys new military AI in Gaza war
Egypt threatens to suspend key peace treaty if Israel pushes into Gaza border town, officials say
Israel Utilizes AI Military Technology in Gaza Conflict
Saudi Arabia Warns Of A "Humanitarian Catastrophe" If Israel Moves On Rafah
China Warns Iran to Halt Houthi Attacks or Damage Trade Ties
US University To Shut Qatar Campus Due To "Heightened Mideast Instability"
Iran-backed hackers interrupt UAE TV streaming services with deepfake news
Facebook and Instagram Ban Iran's Supreme Leader
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken: The Israelis underwent dehumanization on 7.10, this does not give them the right to do this to others.
Defense Technology Showcase Held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rise 2.5% to $6bn in November 2023: GASTAT
UK Bans Misleading "Zero Emissions" Claims for Electric Cars
Gaza's Teen Inventor Sparks Light in Displacement
Netanyahu Rejects Ceasefire Proposal, Insists On Total Victory Over Hamas
Guterres appoints independent UNRWA review panel
Private Sector Employment Hits Record High with Over 11 Million Employees in January
Rolls-Royce Executive Encourages Saudi Women to Tap into Their Inner 'Superhero' for Success in Defense Industry
Saudi Arabia launches National Academy of Vehicles and Cars
Saudi Tourism Minister Reveals Plan for 250,000 New Hotel Rooms by 2030
SAR to more than double eastern network passenger capacity with new trains deal
Saudi Arabia Enhances National Defense with New Partnerships
Saudi Aramco Maintains Arab Light Crude Pricing to Asia for March
NEOM Establishes New York Office to Support Investors
Saudi Wealth Fund Draws in Over $25 Billion Worth of Investments in Three Years, Al-Rumayyan Reveals
ZATCA Cautions Against Scammer Schemes
INTRA Defense Technologies inaugurates drone factory in Riyadh
×