What we know about the high-profile Bill and Melinda Gates divorce
On May 3, 2021, in what may be Twitter’s most famous divorce tweet of all time, Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates announced that they are ending their marriage. Bill Gates is the fourth richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately $124 billion. The Gates’ settlement of marital property could be the largest of all time. Understandably, the Gates desire to keep the details of their high-profile divorce private. One month into the Gates’ announcement, here is what we do know about this multi-billion-dollar divorce.
Each party will be represented by at least three law firms, including attorneys versed in Washington State family law. One of Melinda French Gates’ attorneys is celebrity divorce lawyer Robert Stephan Cohen.
Melinda French Gates could become the second richest woman in the world after the divorce is finalized. In fact, on the day the couple announced their separation, Bill transferred $2.4 billion dollars in securities to Melinda, officially making her a billionaire separate from her husband.
Melinda French Gates is not asking for alimony. Instead, she will likely receive billions of dollars in assets—similar to Mackenzie Bezos, who received a four percent stake in Amazon (worth $38 billion), when she divorced Amazon founder and the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos.
The couple has no minor children. The youngest Gates child is 18, suggesting that the couple may have waited for her to reach legal adulthood before divorcing.
In 2017, Bill Gates announced that each his three children would inherit $10 million of his fortune, but there is speculation that Melinda French Gates is attempting to increase that amount in the couple’s settlement.
While there is speculation that the Gates had a prenup, their separation agreement will likely supersede the terms of any premarital agreement.
In addition to billions of dollars in Microsoft stock, the Gates’ divorce will divide the couple’s real estate, which is worth $170 million and includes their 66,000 square foot home outside of Seattle, Washington.
The Gates’ art collection is worth $124 million and includes works by artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Winslow Homer. The collection could also be divided in the divorce settlement.
Although the Gates announced their divorce in 2021, it is rumored that Melinda French Gates hired divorce lawyers in 2019 when news broke about her husband’s alleged friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
While the Gates are divorcing, they will both continue to devote time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to reduce disease, poverty and inequity worldwide.
Those are the highlights of what we know so far about Bill and Melinda Gates divorce. Dividing 27 years’ worth of monetary and non-monetary contributions to a marriage is no simple task.
If you are considering separation or you are involved in a divorce in Maryland or the District of Columbia, contact our team at Markham Law Firm at 240-396-4373. It is vital that you secure highly competent legal representation even if your assets do not include a da Vinci.