Bill Gates affair latest – Microsoft boss ‘had reputation for questionable behavior’ before ‘staffer affair leak’

MELINDA GATES CALLED MARRIAGE WITH BILL ‘INCREDIBLY HARD’

Melinda previously told The Sunday Times that being with Bill was often “incredibly hard” when they marked 25 years of marriage.

“When he was having trouble making the decision about getting married, he was incredibly clear that it was not about me, it was about ‘Can I get the balance right between work and family life?”’ she said in 2019.

Two years before Bill announced their bombshell divorce, he had listed the pros and cons of marriage on a whiteboard in Netflix’s three-episode series, “Inside Bill’s Brain.»

«His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married,» his estranged wife said in the documentary. «His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married.»

WHY DID GATES RESIGN FROM THE BOARD OF MICROSOFT?

Bill Gates’ resignation from Microsoft’s board was allegedly not linked to allegations of an affair with a staffer.

Board members are said to have carried out an investigation into the billionaire’s romantic relationship with a Microsoft engineer in late 2019 after she claimed in a letter she had a sexual relationship with Gates for a number of years.

“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” a spokeswoman for Gates told the Journal, adding that his departure from the board was not related to the relationship.

MELINDA’S DIVORCE LAWYER WORKED ON TRUMP CASE

Robert Cohen, a lawyer now working on Melinda Gates’ divorce settlement, previously represented Donald Trump’s first wife Ivana Trump.

Ivana married the former President in 1977 and divorced him in 1992.

Cohen also represented Marla Maples, who married Donald Trump in December 1993.

He has also represented late Sopranos actor James Gandolfini and Pulp Fiction actress Uma Thurman, according to Chambers and Partners.

WHO IS ANN WINBLAD?

Ann Winblad is a respected software industry entrepreneur and leader in technology.

Winblad is the founding partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, and formerly worked for the Federal Reserve.

Winblad dated Bill Gates for several years after meeting in 1984.

The two met during Winblad’s tech consultant position with Microsoft.

After Gates married Melinda French in 1994, he and Winblad continued to have annual get togethers.

FOUNDATION EMPLOYEE PUSHES BACK AGAINST RUMORS

Zhe «Shelly» Wang, 36, an employee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, denied allegations that she broke up the couple.

A BBC analyst translated Wang’s response in Chinese to reports that she had “more than strictly professional relationship” with Bill.

The interpreter, who has worked for the foundation since 2015, dismissed the affair allegations as «crazy» and urged people not to «waste time on unfounded rumors» following Bill and Melinda’s explosive split.

She supposedly took to the Chinese site Weibo to issue a statement on the matter, writing: «I thought that the rumors would go away by themselves, but I did not expect the rumors to become more and more crazily spread.»

WILL BILL AND MELINDA CONTINUE PHILANTHROPY?

In the announcement of their divorce, Bill and Melinda said they would still collaborate on the Gates Foundation, their charity organization.

«We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,» Gates wrote.

BILL GATES TROLLS TAKE TO TINDER

Spoof accounts started to appear this week on Tinder after the Microsoft co-founder, announced his divorce from Melinda Gates earlier this week.

The accounts, masquerading as the billionaire, offer dates a «third Covid dose.»

One fake account reads, «I’m still rich. I didn’t read your bio becoz I know what they all says, ‘I love dogs, pizza, not looking for hookups bla bla bla’ boring…I’ve seen trees with more personality .»

The fake profile also states :»Likes: Office365, Vaccines, boring girls without personalities (I hear they live here). Dislikes: iMacs, Anti-vaxxers, Google docs».

WILL MELINDA CHANGE HER LAST NAME?

According to court documents, Melinda Gates will not change her last name back to «French» after the divorce.

She is also not seeking any spousal support, the divorce petition states. 

It appears that Melinda has requested for the pair’s assets and liabilities to be divided equally.

The power couple look set to battle each other for a share of their fortune after the divorce announcement on Monday.

MELINDA COMES AWAY WITH MICROSOFT CASHOUT

Shortly after the release of news about their divorce, Bill Gates gifted $1.8billion in stock to his soon-to-be ex wife Melinda.

Melinda Gates now has command of Cascade’s 14.1 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co. worth about $1.5billion, Bloomberg reported, citing a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from May 3.

Bill Gates also gave 2.94 million shares in AutoNation Inc. stocks to Melinda Gates.

Melinda’s estimated worth is about $70billion, according to Spear’s.

BILL GATES VISITED EPSTEIN’S MANHATTAN MANSION

Bill Gates and Epstein reportedly attended late-night gatherings at Epstein’s Manhattan home.

Gates said he was «intrigued» by the decor inside Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous New York City mansion which included nude art, a painting of Bill Clinton in a dress, and fake breasts.

The two men also reportedly flew together on Epstein’s private jet – dubbed the «Lolita Express.»

Gates has always denied witnessing any wrongdoing during any of his meetings with Epstein.

WHO DID BILL GATES HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH?

The identity of the woman with which Bill Gates had an affair remains unclear.

The woman wrote a letter to the Microsoft board in 2019, revealing her romantic relationship with Gates that began in 2000 and lasted for several years.

Microsoft’s board investigated the women’s claims and deemed the relationship «inappropriate», the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesman said.

“A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”

INDIVIDUAL STATES SENDING OUT STIMULUS PAYMENTS

The American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed in March contains $350billion in state and local aid.

The US Treasury determined those funds can be used for direct payments.

California passed a stimulus program in February that grants residents $600 or $1,200 checks, depending on their 2020 tax returns.

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a second round of state stimulus checks would be distributed to those with incomes below $75,000.

In Maryland, individuals can get $300 and families can get $500 in direct payments based on their 2019 tax returns.

BOOK DETAILS WILD PARTIES OF BILL’S YOUTH

Wild parties took place at Gates’ Laurelhurst, Washington home, as first detailed in Wallace’s 1997 book, Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace.

The book describes the parties as «wild» and said the racy events would often see Gates and his entourage flock to one of Seattle’s all-nude nightclubs and «hire dancers to come to his home and swim naked with his friends in his indoor pool.»

Wallace also described a young Gates as a renowned «womanizer», with his antics reportedly placing a strain on his relationship with Melinda while they were dating.

WHERE DID BILL GATES MEET WITH EPSTEIN?

Gates is said to have visited Epstein multiple times, including in the financier’s townhouse on the Upper East Side.

In 2013, he flew on Epstein’s private plane – dubbed the ‘Lolita Express’ as it was allegedly an aircraft used to traffic underage girls.

They met up for dinner in New York later that year, but were no longer in contact by the end of 2014, according to The Times.

IS BILL GATES THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD?

Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index.

That title goes to Tesla founder Elon Musk, who overtook Amazon boss Jeff Bezos on Thursday, January 7, 2021, to become the richest person in the world.

According to the index, Bill Gates is third on the rich list with a net worth of $134billion.

BILL AND MELINDA ASK FOR PRIVACY DURING DIVORCE

The couple tweeted identical statements asking for privacy during the divorce process.

«We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,» the statement read.

«We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.»

BILL GIFTED MELINDA STOCKS

One of Gates’s holding companies, Cascade Investment, transferred almost $2billion worth of securities to Melinda, Bloomberg Wealth reported.

This gives Melinda command of Cascade’s 14.1 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co. worth about $1.5billion, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from May 3.

The billionaire also moved 2.94 million shares in AutoNation Inc. stocks, worth $309million.

MELINDA RENTED PRIVATE CARIBBEAN ISLAND

Melinda fled to Calivigny Island in Grenada with her three children to escape media scrutiny after the divorce announcement, sources told TMZ.

The private island cost her $132,000 a night, according to reports.

All family members except Bill were invited to the luxury getaway in Grenada.

WHERE DID BILL GATES FIRST MEET EPSTEIN?

Gates and the disgraced financier first struck up a friendship in 2011 – three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting an underage girl in Florida – and met on numerous occasions, The New York Times reported.

Claims of Epstein’s impropriety were widely reported by then, but Gates continued to connect with him – visiting his New York townhouse at least three times, according to the publication.

Melinda was reportedly unhappy with the friendship.

BILL STAYING OUT DIVORCE RUMORS IN PRICEY RESORT

It appears that Bill has been hiding out at the Vintage Club in Indian Wells for several months to avoid questions as details of his divorce emerged.

A source told Page Six: “Bill clearly saw this divorce coming for a long time because he’s been there for around three months.

“It is the perfect place for Bill to hide out from anyone who wants to question him about his divorce or his alleged ties to Epstein.”

The exclusive Vintage Club is members-only and costs $250,000 to join.

WHAT DID MELINDA THINK ABOUT EPSTEIN?

Melinda was disturbed by Bill’s relationship with the wealthy Epstein, telling friends how uncomfortable she was in his company and that she wanted «nothing to do with him», the Daily Beast reported.

A social visit with the disgraced financier left Melinda «furious» with her husband, sources close to the couple revealed.

HOW LONG HAVE THE GATES BEEN PLANNING DIVORCE?

Bill Gates’ divorce from his wife has been in the works for around two years after she reportedly spoke to lawyers back in 2019, it has been revealed.

Melinda reportedly had been working with firms for months on end to put a stop to her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill.

Insiders claimed the divorce was «not friendly» and the split has been a «long time coming».

BILL GATES OWNS LEONARDO DA VINCI’S JOURNAL

Among Bill’s impressive art collection is a $30.8million Leonardo da Vinci journal.

The billionaire paid $30.9million for the rare artifact, whose contents were gathered from 1504 to 1508.

In 2018, Gates offered for the manuscript to be exhibited in Florence at the Uffizi to honor the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death.

WHY DID GATES AND EPSTEIN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP?

Microsoft board members were told the relationship between Epstein and Gates was solely focused on philanthropy, according to an anonymous source.

Gates’ involvement with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been speculated as the cause of the split with wife Melinda, according to media reports.

MICROSOFT CHANGED EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS PROCESS

Microsoft said it would change its process for handling employee complaints of harassment and discrimination in April 2019.

At the time it also said it would provide additional training and boost the number of human resources staff who address complaints, among other changes.

The announcement came after women at Microsoft shared stories of sexual harassment and discrimination in an email chain within the company, the Microsoft spokesman confirmed.