Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Separating After 27 Years of Marriage

Billionaire and philanthropic couple Bill and Melinda Gates are divorcing following more than 27 years of marriage, the former announced on Twitter.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the pair tweeted.

The couple founded their philanthropic organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together in 2000. Since then, the foundation has spent $53.8 billion on a wide range of initiatives related to global health, poverty alleviation, and more, according to its website.

Melinda Gates filed a petition for divorce in King County, Washington, on Monday, asking a judge to dissolve the marriage based on the couple's separation contract. No financial details were included in the publicly available documents.

Gates is one of the richest people in the world, with Forbes estimating his real-time net worth at $130.5 Billion. Gates has sold or given away much of his stake in Microsoft -- he owns just over 1% of shares -- and invested in a mix of stocks and other assets.
In mid-March 2020, Gates stepped down as a board member of Microsoft, the software firm he founded with Paul Allen (d. 2018) in 1975. To date, Gates has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.

In the tweet, the couple has asked for space and privacy for their family as they begin to navigate this new life.