She was plotting.
GMB: Bill Gates and Wife Split Up
- Thread starter Koba St
- Start date
She was plotting.
I'm still waiting for @Homer Simpson to explain why my name was in his mouth. 
Bruh. She called it
Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates
Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates
The philanthropist had discussions with lawyers in October 2019 around when the Microsoft co-founder’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein became public
By and
May 9, 2021 1:05 pm ET
Melinda and Bill Gates during a 2019 interview in Kirkland, Wash.
Photo: Elaine Thompson/Associated Press
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The split between Bill and Melinda Gates, announced last week, has been in the works for a long time.
Ms. Gates consulted with divorce lawyers roughly two years before she filed for divorce from Mr. Gates, saying their marriage was “irretrievably broken,” according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The 56-year-old philanthropist has been working with lawyers at several firms since at least 2019 to unwind the marriage of more than 25 years, according to these people and the documents.
Last Monday, the billionaire couple announced they were ending their marriage. In a joint statement posted on Twitter, they said, “we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
The couple hasn’t said what prompted the split. One source of concern for Ms. Gates was her husband’s dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the people and a former employee of their charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ms. Gates’s concerns about the relationship dated as far back as 2013, the former employee said.
Interactive: A visual look at the estate of Bill and Melinda Gates
The couple negotiated their divorce throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the documents show. They have three children who are all now 18 years or older, the divorce filing shows. The youngest is a senior in high school.
According to the documents reviewed by the Journal, Ms. Gates and her advisers held a number of calls in October 2019 when the New York Times reported that Mr. Gates had met with Mr. Epstein on numerous occasions. Mr. Gates once stayed late into the night at Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, the Times reported.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, said in 2019 that the software mogul and Mr. Epstein had met multiple times to discuss philanthropy. “ Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so,” Ms. Arnold said at the time. Mr. Epstein died in jail in August 2019 awaiting trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking.
Ms. Gates, a global advocate for women and girls, had told her husband she was uncomfortable with Mr. Epstein after the couple met him together in 2013, the former employee of the Gates Foundation said. Mr. Gates and some employees of the Gates Foundation continued a relationship with Mr. Epstein despite her concerns, this person said.
The Daily Beast earlier reported on the 2013 meeting and Ms. Gates’s concerns with Mr. Epstein.
When asked about his relationship with Mr. Epstein in a September 2019 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Gates said: “I met him. I didn’t have any business relationship or friendship with him.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, who is 65 years old, said Friday he stands by his 2019 statement to the Journal and declined to comment further. A spokeswoman for Ms. Gates didn’t respond to questions about her reasons for seeking a divorce.
In early 2020, Mr. and Ms. Gates surprised many people when they said they wouldn’t attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of business and world leaders that the power couple had attended for years.
A few months later, on March 13, Mr. Gates said he was resigning from the boardsof Microsoft Corp. MSFT 1.09% and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B 0.42% The Microsoft co-founder said he planned to focus more on his philanthropic efforts.
By that time, the Gateses were already in discussions to divide their vast wealth, according to the people familiar with the matter and the documents. Legal teams from both sides were privately in discussions with a mediator to work out a separation, the documents show.
Ms. Gates’s legal team by then already included New York divorce lawyer Robert Stephan Cohen, the documents show. Mr. Cohen has represented Michael Bloomberg, Henry Kravis and Ivana Trump in their divorces.
Mr. Gates also has some star lawyers, including Ronald Olson, a partner at the firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP who has represented Mark Zuckerberg, among others. Mr. Olson is a board member at Berkshire Hathaway, where he sat alongside Mr. Gates and Mr. Gates’s close friend Warren Buffett.
The May 3 divorce filing says the couple had agreed to a separation contract to divide their assets—a fortune estimated at $130 billion by Forbes. Their assets include a $131 million lakeside compound in Washington state called Xanadu 2.0, a rare Leonardo da Vinci notebook and investments in Microsoft and Four Seasons Hotels.
Last week, Mr. Gates’s investment firm transferred nearly $2.4 billion worth of public company shares to Ms. Gates, including stakes in car-dealership ownerAutoNation Inc., AN -1.05% a Mexican broadcaster and a Canadian railroad.
The Gateses have said they would give away most of their wealth and donated more than $36 billion to the Gates Foundation over the years. The couple said they planned to remain co-chairs at the foundation and jointly lead it after their divorce. “We continue to share a belief in that mission,” they said in their Twitterstatement.
Ms. Gates signed her divorce petition in Bellevue, Wash., near the family home and the foundation’s headquarters, according to the filing. Mr. Gates signed the papers from Palm Desert, Calif.
The Gateses and Philanthropy
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Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com and Khadeeja Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com
Chrishaune
Veteran
Those dirty lawyers are trying to get more money....Very see through. They are laughing at this.
i think there is a lot of bullshyt going around possibly by gates wife peoples to discredit him. Epstein at the time when interacting with gates and other high profile people was trying position himself as a climate expert or philanthropist to legitimize himself (could also been setting up honey pot operation but from what's known now don't seem to have entrapped gates).
humminbird
Veteran
Bringing up Epstein like she doesn’t have sex slaves herself 
sjankis630
Pro
I really don't know what exactly happened. But if there is some evidence that someone of Bill Gates stature was involved in some of the bad stuff Epstein was doing then it would stand to reason that more of these billionaires could have been involved too.
At this point we really don't know and that "Xeni" person or whoever who keeps tweeting about all this stuff they know needs to come forward to the FBI or just shut up about it at this point. I am saying this since she was "at the dinner" when allegedly all this stuff went down.
Also Melinda Gates stayed with Bill for how many years after he came in contact with Epstein?
She is going to be on the Forbes magazine very soon after the divorce settlement. Her money bag is going to be bigger than most African American billionaires combine. GMB is undefeated.
Her bag gonna be bigger than all African American billionaires combined. All Black American billionaires combined aren't worth more than $20B.
Robert F. Smith
Net Worth: $6 billion
Age: 58
Business: Private equity, finance, investments
Global Ranking: 451
David Steward
Net worth: $3.7 billion
Age: 69
Business: IT provider
Global Ranking: 807
Oprah Winfrey
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Age: 67
Business: media and entertainment
Global Ranking: 1,174
Kanye West
Net Worth: $1.8 billion
Age: 43
Business: Music, Yeezy sneakers, fashion, retail
Global Ranking: 1,750
Michael Jordan
Net Worth: $1.6 billion
Age: 58
Business: Charlotte Hornets, endorsements
Global ranking: 1,931
Jay-Z
Net Worth: $1.4 billion
Age: 51
Business: Media, entertainment
Global Ranking: 2,141
Tyler Perry
Net Worth: $1.0 billion
Age: 51
Business: Movies, television, entertainment
Global Ranking: 2,674
Source: Forbes
They trying to get ole Bill ALLLLL THE WAY up outta here
Bill Gates was dismissive toward Melinda Gates at work and pursued female employees at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation: NYT report
Bill Gates was dismissive toward Melinda Gates at work and pursued female employees at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation: NYT report
Bill Gates was dismissive toward Melinda Gates at work and pursued female employees at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation: NYT report
- Bill Gates was dismissive toward his wife Melinda French Gates in meetings, The New York Timesreported.
- According to the report, sources said Gates pursued women at Microsoft while married to French Gates.
- Six former and current employees for Gates said he created an uncomfortable workplace, according to the report.
Bill Gates was dismissive toward Melinda Gates at work and pursued female employees at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation: NYT report
