Bill Gates transferred shares of millionaires to Melinda the same day they announced the divorce

Monday May 3, the same day as Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have announced their divorce, the investment company controlled by the founder of Microsoft, Cascade Investment, transferred a fortune in shares his now ex-wife. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents reveal a pass to Melinda that exceeds the $ 2 billion in values.

With this movement begins a unprecedented wealth transfer in history. In this case, these more than 2,000 million hardly affect the assets of Bill Gates, whose fortune is now estimated at around 130,000 million dollars and maintains the fourth position among the richest people in the world.

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Cascade, which is based in Washington and manages the businessman’s versatile portfolio, has transferred control of more than 500 million shares in Coca-Cola Femsa and Grupo Televisa to Melinda, as well as interests in the Company. Canadian National Railways and AutoNation Incorporated, valued at $ 309 million and $ 1,500 million, respectively, as shown Bloomberg. The holding company manages Gates’ investments in sectors such as hospitality, energy, real estate, etc., as well as interests in publicly traded companies.

Thus, Melinda now owns a 4.7% stake in Coca-Cola Femsa for a value of 121 million and 6.7% in Grupo Televisa for a value of 386 million.

The transfer of shares is believed to be part of the couple’s divorce agreement, which dissolves their marriage after 27 years and had not signed a prenuptial contract. In that order, the property and money are divided under the number of a separation contract that Bill and Melinda applied to a Washington state judge.

They are also among the largest landowners on American soil. Heritage includes a 20,000 square foot mansion in Medina, Washington.

Gates, who founded Microsoft in 1975, currently owns just 1% of the company that markets the Windows operating system and the Xbox console, among other products and services.

What will happen to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?

The divorce could have ramifications for one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations, although the now dissolved marriage has heralded the continuation of the Foundation’s activities.

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

“Over the past 27 years, we have raised three amazing children and built a foundation that works around the world helping people lead healthy and productive lives (…) We continue to share the belief in this mission and We will continue to work together on the foundation, but we no longer believe that we can grow together as a couple. in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life, ”they added.

The organization has allocated millionaire sums to various causes, including actions in the field of education, medical aid, various health movements and efforts in the field of the environment, among other initiatives.