Bill and Melinda Gates divorce: what will happen to the incredible fortune of almost 4 times the reserves of the Argentine Central Bank?

The couple of Bill Yes Melinda Gates, who for decades managed one of the world’s largest fortunes and philanthropic organizations, has announced that he is going their separate ways after 27 years of marriage. The news has an impact in various sectors: technology, business and the real estate industry and in the areas of global health, climate change policy and social issues such as equality for women.

The couple, who has about $ 146 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, He did not publicly disclose his financial plans for the future, although they stressed that they would cooperate to continue his philanthropic work. This figure is 3.65 times more than the current reserves of the Argentine Central Bank.

According to Forbes, Gates is the fourth richest person in the world (the magazine estimates an estimate of less than $ 130 billion), just behind Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Bernard Arnault and his family (LVMH) and Elon musk (You’re here).

The pair is estimated to be worth $ 146 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“After a lot of thought and hard work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the former couple said in a brief statement posted on Twitter. “We raised three amazing children and built a foundation that works around the world to enable everyone to lead healthy and productive lives.”

Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is 65 and the fourth richest person in the world. Melinda GatesThe 56-year-old is a former Microsoft manager who excelled as co-director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has donated more than $ 50 billion.

They will remain co-chairs of the foundation, a spokesperson for the organization said in an emailed statement. “No change is expected in their roles or in the organization. They will continue to work together to shape and endorse strategies, advocate for issues and set the overall direction of the organization, ”the statement said.

The couple filed for divorce on Monday in King County, according to an online court records search. They have a separation agreement, according to a copy of a divorce petition posted by the TMZ website, which does not spell out the terms but describes their marriage as “hopelessly broken up.”

This is the second “explosive” divorce between the richest people in the world in recent years, following the news of the separation of Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott in 2019.

This is the second ‘explosive’ divorce between the world’s richest people in recent years, following news of Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott’s split in 2019. The split, which has split the couple’s Amazon stake .com, made MacKenzie one of the richest people in the world. In the months that followed, she became one of the most influential philanthropists, donating billions of dollars to various causes.

But for Bill and Melinda Gates, separating the assets is a much bigger challenge than dividing Bezos’ fortune, which was mostly concentrated in Amazon stocks. Gates’ estate originated from Microsoft, but the software giant’s shares now represent less than 20% of its assets. Much of his stake has been transferred to the Foundation, over the years, and the exact figure for his stake has not been known since he left the Microsoft board last year.

Gates’ most important asset is Cascade Investment, a company he started with the proceeds from the sale of Microsoft shares and dividends managed by Michael Larson. Through Cascade, Gates has interests in real estate, energy and hospitality, as well as dozens of public companies, including Canadian National Railways and Deere & Co.

One of the doubts is what will happen to the $ 150 million mega mansion “Xanadu 2.0”, which the couple own in Medina, Washington. The “house” has 6,200 square meters, 6 kitchens, an 18-meter swimming pool with a building that simultaneously serves as a changing room and gymnasium and a rest room of about 360 square meters, 24 bathrooms, one 200 m² library, private cinema for 20 people and garages for 23 cars, among other amenities.

Mónica mazzei, a divorce lawyer and partner at Sideman & Bancroft LLP in San Francisco, told Bloomberg that the big question about the foundation and the family businesses is how well they plan to work together in the future. “Even in the friendliest divorces I’ve seen, the preference has been to split the base in half so that there is more autonomy and less mixing,” he said.

Under Washington law, there is a 90-day cooling off period from the day a couple files for divorce, before a judge can finalize the process.

Washington law may offer clues as to how they allocate their assets. As communal property, anything acquired during a marriage is considered to be the property of both partners equally, but this does not necessarily mean that the fortune will be split in two. “It’s not a mandatory 50-50,” he explained. Janet George, lawyer at McKinley Irvin. He can never transcend the way the fortune is divided, as it can be hidden behind private contracts, he added.

Under Washington law, there is a 90-day cooling off period from the day a couple files for divorce, before a judge can finalize the process. The couple’s divorce petition, which includes Melinda as a petitioner and Bill as a member, signed by the two, asks the court to dissolve their marriage on a date specified in their separation agreement.

“It was a tough time for our whole family,” her eldest daughter, Jennifer, wrote on Instagram. Her youngest son is 18 years old.

The couple met in New York City in the 1980s, when Melinda started working at Microsoft. To decide whether or not to get married, Bill made a list of pros and cons on a chalkboard: Melinda recounted how he entered her bedroom and found him writing various factors in the Netflix documentary series “In Bill’s brain ”.

During a trip to Africa, during their engagement, the couple decided to become philanthropists. “Nos enamoramos de todo lo que vimos, pero en realidad no es nada trillado decir que realmente nos enamoramos de la gente”, señaló Melinda in a Salesforce event in 2016. Entonces decided that “la gran mayoría de los recursos de Microsoft volverían a the society”.

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