FILE – In this February 1, 2019, file photo, Bill and Melinda French pose together in Gates Kirkland, Wash.
The divorce of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates has been finalised. The Microsoft co-founder and his wife announced in May that they were ending their 27-year marriage and on Monday a King County Superior Court judge signed the dissolution decree. The New York Times reported that the court documents did not specify how they would divide their assets.
Bill Gates was previously the richest person in the world and his wealth is estimated to be around $150 billion.
They met in 1987 after starting to work as a product manager at Microsoft. Both were married in 1994 in Hawaii.
The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the most influential private foundation in the world, with an endowment of nearly $50 billion. It has focused on global health and development and American education issues since its incorporation in 2000.
The two have stated that they will continue to work together as co-chairs of their foundation. However, if Gates and French Gates decide after two years that they cannot continue in their roles, French Gates will resign from his positions as co-chairman and trustee, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reported this month. Initially announced.
If French Gates resigns, Gates will essentially buy her from the Foundation, one of the largest private charitable organizations in the world, and she will receive resources from him to carry out her own philanthropic work. Resources received will differ from Foundation Endowment, as per the Foundation.
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