A New York Times report released this week reveals that Bill Gates hit on female Microsoft staffers multiple times.
"Bill Gates had also developed a reputation for questionable conduct in work-related settings," the report states. "That is attracting new scrutiny amid the breakup of one of the world’s richest, most powerful couples."
According to the report, Gates asked two of his employees out to dinner, a proposition that made them both uncomfortable.
The revelation comes after letter penned to Microsoft's board from a woman claiming a former affair with billionaire Bill Gates demanded wife Melinda "read it."
While the identity of the woman is unknown, the fling is said to have lasted several years.
Bill Gates reportedly asked Jeffrey Epstein for advice on how to end his “toxic” marriage with wife Melinda amid reports of his alleged affair.
The Microsoft co-founder had a number of meetings at the pedophile's $77million New York mansion where he used to complain about his wife, according to reports.
The news came after it was revealed Gates ended his relationship with Epstein after he creeped out his wife Melinda.
Gates' and Epstein's relationship was publicized in 2018, seven years after their first meeting.
They claimed their meetings focused on philanthropy.
It was also reported Gates “had an affair with a female staffer" and “asked employees out while he was married".
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.
The relationship was deemed by the board to be “inappropriate,” people familiar with events told The Wall Street Journal.
- Katie Balevic
BILL GATES CONFIDED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN ABOUT HIS MARRIAGE
A report by the Daily Beast alleges that Melinda Gates first voiced her discomfort to her husband about his relationship with Epstein in 2013.
It came after the couple had dinner with Epstein inside his Manhattan townhouse. She reportedly found the financier "creepy."
But in the years after, Gates continued to attend dinners and meetings at Epstein's home.
Various reports say that Gates even confided in Epstein that he was unhappy in his marriage.
According to the Daily Beast, Gates allegedly described his marriage as "toxic", which both men are said to have found amusing.
- Katie Balevic
BILL GATES 'REGRETS EVER MEETING' JEFFREY EPSTEIN
A spokesperson for Bill Gates told the New York Times that he regretted spending time with Jeffrey Epstein.
"Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so,” spokeswoman Bridgitt Arnold said.
"Gates recognizes that entertaining Epstein’s ideas related to philanthropy gave Epstein an undeserved platform that was at odds with Gates’s personal values and the values of his foundation," Arnold continued.
In its 2019 report, the Times shared details about Gate's interactions with Epstein that Melinda Gates was previously not aware of, sources close to the couple said.
- Katie Balevic
WHAT WAS IN EPSTEIN'S HOUSE?
Epstein's Upper East Side Mansion was filled with bizarre trinkets and macabre decorations.
These included a "photo-realistic" image of himself in prison, stuffed animals, a life-size female doll hanging from a chandelier, and framed eyeballs.
Also adorned on the walls of the $77 million palatial Manhattan townhouse were various images and paintings of nude women, a pair of prosthetic breasts, and a portrait of former President Bill Clinton – another friend of Epstein's – wearing a blue dress and red heels.
It's unclear which of the items Gates found "intriguing".
- Katie Balevic
GATES CALLED EPSTEIN'S LIFESTYLE 'DIFFERENT' AND 'INTRIGUING'
Gates has always denied witnessing any wrongdoing during any of his meetings with Epstein.
But after their initial meeting in 2011, Gates sent an email to a number of his colleagues about the financier.
“His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me,” Gates wrote.
A spokesperson for Gates later clarified to the New York Times that his comments regarding his intrigue were a reference to " the unique décor of Mr. Epstein’s home."
“It was in no way meant to convey a sense of interest or approval,” spokeswoman Bridgitt Arnold said.
- Katie Balevic
BILL GATES WAS 'INTRIGUED' BY JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S NUDE ART
The Microsoft founder, who recently split from his wife Melinda Gates, first met Epstein in 2011. It had been three years since Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Gates' and Epstein's friendship first came to light in 2019, months after Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.
The two men reportedly spent time together on multiple occasions, flying on Epstein's private jet, dubbed the "Lolita Express."
"Lolita" references a Russian book about a middle-aged man who has an affair with a 12-year-old girl.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL, THE MAN WITH NEED FOR SPEED
Bill Gates has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury cars – and supposedly has enough tickets to show proof of it.
When Microsoft was based in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the early days of the company, Gates bought a Porsche 911 and raced it in the desert.
According to a 1997 Time article, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had to bail him out of jail after he got three speeding tickets when he drove from Albuquerque to the company’s new home in Seattle.
Gates also bought a Porsche 930 Turbo he called the “rocket,” a Mercedes, a Jaguar XJ6, a $60,000 Carrera Cabriolet 964, a $380,000 Porsche 959, and a Ferrari 348 that he called “dune buggy” after spinning it in the desert.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL GATES LOVES GOLF AND INTELLECTUAL GAMES
In a 1997 Time article about the world’s then most richest man, those near Bill Gates spoke about the Microsoft founder’s love for golf after marriage.
“Bill got into golf in the same addictive way he gets into anything else,” said Steve Ballmer, who took over from Gates as Microsoft CEO from 2000 to 2014.
As Gates, Ballmer and his friends would go out to celebrate their friends’ bachelor parties, the two would eat at Denny’s, go to the movies, and play mind games like trivia and Boggle.
As Gates and others wed, Ballmer said he turned to golf, because “it gets his competitive juice flowing.”
- Catherina Gioino
BILL ONLY PERSON ON EARTH WHO ‘DOESN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT WIFE’
Although Bill and Melinda are splitting after 27 years of marriage, a friend said the two are always going to be good friends.
“It doesn’t feel like there’s any inequality, even though he’s the one who started Microsoft and not her,” said Mike Slade, a friend of the couple.
“He appreciates everything about her as opposed to complaining about her.”
“I’ve never heard him complain about her. He’s the only person I know on this earth who I’ve never heard complain about his wife,” Slade added.
In the first episode of the 2019 Netflix docuseries Inside Bill’s Brain, Bill referred to Melinda as “totally my partner.”
- Catherina Gioino
BILL GATES’ DIVORCE SENDS ANTI-VAXXERS INTO OVERDRIVE
Bill Gates’ divorce from his wife Melinda has sent anti-vaxxers, QAnon believers and a host of other conspiracy theorists into overdrive.
Microsoft boss Gates and his wife have become a lightning rod for nonsense online propaganda which insidiously spreads across social media.
His post on Twitter sparked a wave of new conspiracy theories – with his message being quote tweeted thousands of times by online crackpots. And this is despite Gates even going as far as to disabling comments, with it instead being shared more than 80,000 times.
Twitter was awash with posts pushing nonsense such as claims Gates is due to be arrested on charges of “crimes against humanity” and bizarre allegations that Melinda had actually be replaced years ago by an actor.
Others attempted to claim the divorce is a “distraction” from something evil going on behind the scenes, and others baselessly claimed that Gates divorce is a sham to help him “hide assets”.
- Catherina Gioino
WHEN DID ANN WINBLAD DATE BILL GATES?
It was at her tech consultant position with Microsoft that Ann Winblad met Bill Gates, and they soon started seeing each other.
After meeting in 1984, the two dated for several years before eventually separating.
After dating the two continued their friendship, as they bonded over their shared love of science and technology.
Gates went on to marry Melinda French in 1994, while Winblad went on to be inducted into the Fortune Small Business Hall of Fame in 2000.
Despite Gates marriage, and his former romantic relationship with Winblad, the two continued to have annual get togethers.
- Catherina Gioino
A ‘TIME’ LINE: BILL AND MELINDA BECOME TIME PERSONS OF THE YEAR
In December 2005, Time Magazine named Bill and Melinda Gates as the Persons of the Year along with U2 singer Bono, calling all three of the “The Good Samaritans.”
Earlier that year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed $750 million improving child immunizations, accelerating new vaccines, and strengthening vaccine delivery systems.
“We’re grateful that Time recognizes the importance of the world’s inequities, whether they are in the United States or thousands of miles away,” the couple said in a statement at the time.
“We realize that we’ve been extremely fortunate in business, and we want to give back in ways that can do the most good for the most people. But we also believe that everyone has something to offer — time, money, or energy — that can help others,” they added.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA LIMITED THEIR CHILDREN’S SCREEN TIME
The tech couple tried to limit their three children’s screen time as much as possible at home – even as Bill Gates’ Microsoft had boosted him to the world’s richest man position in the 1990s.
“We often set a time after which there is no screen time,” Bill once told the Mirror.
“And in their case, that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour.”
He added that their kids didn’t get cell phones until they were teenagers.
“We don’t have cellphones at the table when we are having a meal, we didn’t give our kids cell phones until they were 14, and they complained other kids got them earlier,” he explained.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL THE FARMER… AND SPORTS CAR DRIVER
Bill is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States, with deed for 242,000 acres spread across 18 states.
He also has a fleet of sports cars in his possession that could be split between him and wife Melinda Gates.
They include a rare $1.5 million Porsche 959, a Jaguar XJ6, a Ferrari 348 and an electric Porsche Taycan.
They also have a collection of writings and sketches by artist Leonardo Da Vinci, called the Codex, worth around $25 million.
The couple also owns a series of plush private planes, including two Gulfstream jets, two Bombardier Challenger 350s, a Cessna Seaplane and a collection of helicopters.
In addition, Gates owns an art collection which includes an oil painting by Winslow Homer purchased for $30 million and a George Bellows piece worth $23 million.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL WOULD BE 17TH RICHEST MAN IN 50-50 SPLIT OF ASSETS
Bill Gates, now the fourth richest man in the world, could become the 17th richest man in the world should he and Melinda split their assets 50-50.
The couple has a combined net worth of about $130 billion, and they didn’t sign a prenup before marriage.
Washington state, where they live, requires that any wealth made during the marriage be split equally between the two parties if there is no prenup.
Both Bill and Melinda have hired three separate law firms to split their assets.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA WORKING ON VACCINE DISTRIBUTION SINCE LAUNCH OF FOUNDATION
The billionaire philanthropist couple has been working on increasing vaccine distribution across the world since they launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
Since then, they have been able to increase supply of routine vaccines like measles and mumps, while also improving current vaccine distribution methods.
In 2010, the foundation announced it was donating $10 billion for vaccine research over the next decade to help research, develop and deliver vaccines to the world’s poorest countries.
By 2020, the foundation committed more than $1.7 billion to stopping Covid-19.
- Catherina Gioino
OLD BILL GATES MEMES RESURFACE IN WAKE OF DIVORCE NEWS
Memes of Bill and Melinda Gates’ split have gone viral on social media – but that’s not stopping some from resurfacing already meme’d content related to Bill Gates.
When launching Windows 95, Bill Gates awkwardly danced on stage to The Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up, in a video that has commonly surfaced social media.
This time around, people are making jokes regarding the couple’s impending divorce.
“Billy G and the boys meeting up at Chili’s after the divorce is final,” wrote one person while sharing the viral video.
- Catherina Gioino
WHAT IS CHARLIE MUNGER’S NET WORTH?
Munger has an estimated net worth of $2.1billion.
The executive is also a philanthropist and has reportedly donated $110million to the University of Michigan to fund a new “state of the art” residence hall.
He has also donated $65million to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, making it the largest donation in school’s history.
Munger and his second late wife Nancy previously donated 500 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock, then valued at $43.5million in 2004, to Stanford to build a graduate student housing complex.
- Catherina Gioino
WHO IS CHARLIE MUNGER?
Soon to be divorcé Bill Gates has hired Charles Munger to manage his billion-dollar split from Melinda.
The 97-year-old lawyer frequents the same social circle as he is close pals with billionaire Warren Buffett.
Charles Munger is a billionaire American businessman, investor, and real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett.
The duo are best friends and have known each other since Munger met Buffett at a dinner party in 1959.
Coincidentally, Munger worked at Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store, Buffet & Sons when he was a teenager.
- Catherina Gioino
GATES HIRES 97-YEAR-OLD ATTORNEY
Bill Gates has hired 97-year-old attorney Charlie T. Munger, who is not a family lawyer, according to reports, which Leslie sees as a “smart choice.”
His expertise lies in business, philanthropy and real estate and he has been friends with Bill for many years since their time working together at Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s holding company.
- Catherina Gioino
WHAT IS RORY GATES’ NET WORTH?
Rory Gates certainly isn’t poor, with his net worth estimated at around $20million, according to several websites.
But, his dad has stressed that each of his kids will get just a small slice of his multi-billion-dollar wealth.
In the 30 years from 1987 to 2016, Bill and Melinda Gates amassed about $120billion, reported The Conversation in 2018.
Bill, the world’s fourth-richest man, has spoken in the past about how each of his three children would only inherit about $10million of his massive fortune.
During a Reddit Q&A session in 2013, when asked whether it was true he would give Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe $10million each, Bill confirmed that this amount was for their benefit.
- Catherina Gioino
CLOSING THE GATES
Bill Gates’ $80billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing.
Properties up for grabs include a $123million mansion with a trampoline room and a $43million oceanfront mansion with a ten-person jacuzzi.
Gates, worth $130.5billion is one of the only eight people in the world worth over $100billion, and is the fourth richest man in the world.
- Catherina Gioino
WHAT DID BILL GATES AND HIS EX DO ON THEIR NC TRIPS?
While in North Carolina, the former couple would ride dune buggies, hang-glide, enjoy long walks on the beach, and “play putt-putt while discussing biotechnology” Bill revealed during the bombshell 1997 interview.
“We share our thoughts about the world and ourselves,” Winblad explained.
“And we marvel about how, as two young overachievers, we began a great adventure on the fringes of a little-known industry and it landed us at the center of an amazing universe.”
It isn’t clear how long or if these yearly trips continued after this interview.
The article also notes that Gates had a picture Winblad on a trip to Germany hanging in his office 24 years ago, as well as a snap of his wife with nine friends on a 1995 vacation to Indonesia.
- Catherina Gioino
WHAT ARE THE MOST EXPENSIVE DIVORCES?
Although Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce might be the most expensive one ever recorded – even potentially dropping Bill from the fourth richest man on earth to the 17th in a 50-50 split – there have been plenty of expensive ones in the past.
Perhaps the most famous example was the split between the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie Scott, in which Scott received $35.6billion in Amazon stock.
She became the third-richest woman in the world at the time, and now is to the richest as her net worth rocketed to $62billion by late 2020 thanks to Amazon’s value exploding during the pandemic.
Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer who built a $4 billion fortune, divorced Englishwoman Sandra Daly in 1974 — in a reported $874 million split, which was the most expensive in history at the time.
Elin Nordegren divorced golf legend Tiger Woods in 2010 for a reported $110million.
- Catherina Gioino
BILL AND MELINDA GATES DISAGREED ON SOME ASPECTS OF HAVING KIDS
Bill Gates was apparently “stunned” when his wife, Melinda, decided not to go back to work after she had their first child, Jennifer.
Melinda shared in her 2019 book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, that her husband said, “What do you mean, you’re not going back?” when she told him of her decision.
“And I said: ‘We’re lucky enough not to need my income. So this is about how we want to raise a family. You’re not going to downshift at work, and I don’t see how I can put in the hours I need to do a great job at work and raise a family at the same time.”‘
One area they did seem to agree was on not allowing their kids too much access to technology.
“We often set a time after which there is no screen time,” Bill once told the Mirror.
“We don’t have cellphones at the table when we are having a meal, we didn’t give our kids cell phones until they were 14, and they complained other kids got them earlier,” he explained.
- Catherina Gioino
BEING WITH BILL WAS “INCREDIBLY HARD,” MELINDA SAID IN 2019
There were times that being married to Bill Gates were “incredibly hard,” Melinda said in 2019 when the couple celebrated their 25th anniversary together.
“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 told The Sunday Times in 2019.
In the 2019 documentary Inside Bill’s Brain, Melinda described how Bill came to the conclusion of getting married.
“His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married,” Melinda said in the documentary.
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