Announcing the news on Twitter, Bill and Melinda Gates say they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple” and have decided to end their 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,” their joint statement read,
“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 the next phase of our lives.”
Bill and Melinda met in the late 1980s when Melinda joined Microsoft. In 2000, they founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charitable organisation which supports causes to fight poverty, disease, and inequity around the world.
According to Forbes, Bill is the fourth wealthiest person in the world. Melinda has also been ranked as one of the world’s most powerful women and in 2019, published her first book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.