Quote:
Originally Posted by Onkel Neal
(Post 2745951)
I love it how the subject is marriage but everyone keeps bringing up money :k_confused:
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When the parties involved are so über rich, it is the natural inclination to primarily speculate about the redistribution of their assets, but it is also true there is the underlying, and, actually, more important, tragedy of a long-lived relationship that has seemingly run its course...
First, let's dispense with the financials; Washington state, which is where the Gates reside is a "community property state", meaning, by law, any dissolution of marriage would normally mean an enforced 50/50 distribution of marital assets
unless there is a pre-nuptual agreement in effect or the parties have reached a division of assets agreement between themselves that is other than 50/50; the Gates have no official pre-nup, but they do have a 'separation agreement' in effect which they entered into at some point in teir relationship which outlines who gets what and who keeps what; at this point, Bill will very most likely walk way with more than Melinda, owing to the fact he had already accumulated substantial shares in Microsoft before he married Melinda and, even in "community property" states, the law tends to exclude assets owned as an unmarried individual to be exc;uded from the accounting of the married assets; once they got married, any accumulate assets after that point are pretty much fair game for 50/50 division; also, keep in mind both the Gates are signatories to a pledge to give away all of their assets to charitable causes at the time of their death(s) and, given their exhibited commitment to their causes, it is unlikely that will change, so anything they do walk away with is probably already 'spent', so to speak; they even have a formal will that explicitly outlines the disbursements upon their death(s); interestingly, their children will not be getting any proportionally great windfall from the will since Bill and Melinda have allocated only the sum of USD $i million to each of their heirs...
AS for the relationship, well, nowadays, a marriage that lasts nearly three decades is a marvel, in itself; that they even found each other to begin with is a feat in itself; Bill is a very private and particular person and does not seem like an overly social person; also, with his intellect, it must have been a task to find someone who is challenging and loving, such as Melinda, and it is well known she was not all that interested in BIll, at first, fame or no fame, money or no money, so Bill had to work a bit to get her to come around his side; they've has a pretty good run, have raised a pretty decent family and have, together as a couple, accomplished some very admirable and notable achievements, doing so without braggadocio or spotlight-grabbing, like some other ersatz 'billionaires'; they just seemed to take the attitude of 'well, we've got way more than we will ever need, so we should at least put it to some good, productive use'; their foundation may bear their names, but its sole purpose has not been to aggrandize them but to seek to put what might have been wasted on unnecessary excess to very good use, their names existing mainly as a vehicle to bring attention to their causes...
It is hoped they will continue to be amicable and that they will find each their own happiness and fulfillment going forward; for most of their lives, they have ignored the petty gossip "fame" brings as unwanted baggage, and, I suspect they will continue to let the gossip-mongers indulge in their trite speculations with any acknowledgment from th Gates; they seem to be good, decent people, remarkably grounded, for who they are and what they've accomplished, and I wish them well...
<O>
