Bill and Melinda Gates ending their marriage

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

I love it how the subject is marriage but everyone keeps bringing up money

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...





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[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Because they are loaded. No other reason. As I stated, money don't buy love. No one needs money for that. But money buys a hell of a lot of other things. But money can divide as well. Earned or inherited.

She probably got tired of him constantly wanting to update her browser.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

She probably got tired of him constantly wanting to update her browser.

Ba-dum, tish!

[HunterICX]

Originally Posted by Platapus

We have no idea what their private relationship was like.

Nor do I care for what it was like, that goes for all relationships whether they're famous, royalty or common fokes.


Their lives, not mine so I don't have business to know.

[Onkel Neal]

Well, one thing this topic did clear up is the misconception that people are fixated on other people's money.

[Mr Quatro]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

I love it how the subject is marriage but everyone keeps bringing up money

The divorce could actually be a smoke screen to save on paying tax to the US Government.

Somehow they've figured out a way to have the divorce count as a tax write off in losses due to the divorce.

They may even still be friends

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

She probably got tired of him constantly wanting to update her browser.

Yep, she is moving on to a Macbook.

[FireDragon76]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

hmmm, no prenup?

she is entitled to 50%?

just wait til the lawyers get involved, this will turn ugly soon enough.

real question is who was cheating on who? no one leaves a marriage after 27 years unless you have an exit plan.

p.s. - yes, I am a cynic...

That's possible.


I would think after 27 years of marriage people would just want to get over their differences, even if it's not a picture-perfect romance.


Very unfortunate, but a sign of the times perhaps. Then again, Bill Gates is not the most skilled when it comes to relating to people (though he's a genius in terms of understanding technical systems) so maybe this has something to do with that.

[Mr Quatro]

I've been doing some research on waste management in Hawaii and the rest of the world and I have changed my mind about Bill Gates.

Perhaps he didn't personally research the problem of waste material into our waters, but he sure has funded it.

Give him a break ...

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/08...orking-to-fix/

53 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Flushes Daily Into Hawaii’s Waters —

Mismanagement of waste is a huge issue in countries around the world, especially in a lot of “developing” nations. The Gates Foundation has made waste management a huge priority — to the tune of about $200 million

https://www.facebook.com/gatesfoundation/