Melinda Gates began divorce move amid concerns over Bill’s ‘dealings’ with Jeffrey Epstein: Report

Melinda Gates is said to have begun exploring the option to divorce her soon-to-be ex-husband Bill Gates in 2019. Melinda was reportedly concerned with Bill Gates’ connection with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As per a report in The Wall Street Jorunal, the 56-year-old philanthropist spoke with multiple lawyers since at least 2019 before finally filing for divorce.

One source of concern for Ms. Gates was her husband’s dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the daily reported citing people and a former employee of their charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The New York Times reported in October 2019 that the billionaire had met with Epstein several times, and once stayed late at his New York townhouse. Epstein had died in jail two months prior while awaiting trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking. A spokeswoman for Microsoft Corp. co-founder said t the meetings had centered around philanthropy.

The Microsoft founder and his wife, two of the world’s most powerful and influential philanthropists, announced their divorce last week. Neither Bill nor Melinda Gates has said what led to the split.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” a joint statement posted to Twitter said. “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.”

Also Read: Bill Gates and Melinda Gates call it quits after 27 years, announced on Twitter

Bill, 65, co-founder of Microsoft, had met Melinda, 56 when she had joined the technology giant as a product manager. After dating for a few years, they got married in January 1994 in Hawaii. The couple has three children aged 18 to 25. The divorce was negotiated during the Covid pandemic, involving legal teams working with a mediator to divide their fortune, which is pegged at around $145 billion.

The foundation said in a statement that the two would remain co-chairs and trustees and no changes were expected at the organisation.

“They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues and set the organisation’s overall direction,” the statement said.