For 27 years, Bill and Melinda Gates called themselves husband and wife. The couple would go on to become one of the wealthiest couples in the world.
They also welcomed three children into the world, Rory, Jennifer, and Phoebe. Sadly, despite all they have created together over the last nearly three decades, Bill and Melinda Gates have decided to end their marriage.
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Bill and Melinda Gates Believe They Can No Longer Grow Together
The now-former couple announced their divorce on Bill’s Twitter account with a joint statement. That statement revealed that they believed they can no longer growing together as a couple but will continue to work together when it comes to the global foundation they started.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent billions of dollars over the last 20 years combating disease and poverty at home and abroad. Their foundation also included giving those in need access to computers and the Internet to make “sure that every student had an equal opportunity to learn, graduate, and succeed.”
According to TMZ, Bill and Melinda started dating in 1987 after meeting at a trade show in New York. They would get married nearly seven years later on New Year’s Day in 1994 in Hawaii. After meeting, Melinda worked for Microsoft, which Bill co-founded in 1975, before leaving in 1996 to start their family.
Bill Gates is estimated to be worth $130 billion.