The couple of wealthy philanthropists announced the news Monday evening. However, they will continue to work together in the foundation that bears their name.
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AFP
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates announced their divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage and 20 years of working together at their foundation, one of the most powerful in the world.
“After careful consideration and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” tweeted in a joint statement the two spouses, who reside in Washington state.
The Gates, who have three children, announced that they would continue to “work together at their foundation,” the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which fights poverty and disease, but that they no longer believe they “can. evolve together as a couple ”.
No official explanation
Bill Gates, 65, and his wife, 56, pleaded with the audience to give their families the “space and privacy” they need to “start adjusting to this new life.” They did not say anything about the reasons that prompted them to separate.
Bill Gates is, according to the latest Forbes ranking, the fourth richest man in the world, with a fortune estimated at 124 billion dollars (113 billion francs). It places him behind two other Americans, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and Frenchman Bernard Arnault, and ahead of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. If he made his fortune thanks to Microsoft, he resigned as president in 2014 and now devotes himself mainly to philanthropy.
The foundation he created with his wife is considered the largest private foundation in the world. It has spent some $ 53 billion in 20 years and employs nearly 1,600 people, according to its official website.
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