Divorce between Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Melinda is final.
A judge officially approved their split on Monday, three months after the philanthropic power couple announced they were dissolving their 27-year marriage.
Court records indicate neither party will receive “spousal support” or change their names, Daily Reuters reported. Although there was no prenup, the couple reportedly divided up their joint property through a separation contract. This document was not made public and was not filed with the court.
Though the two have vowed to continue working together at the foundation they established, Melinda French Gates could be ousted after two years if the exes cannot work together. The three-member board is being expanded in the wake of investor Warren Buffet’s departure, given that the other two members are the ex-couple themselves.
Its pointed out that Washington state law requires a waiting period of 90 days between filing for divorce and the finalization. Melinda French Gates, as she has begun calling herself, had met with divorce lawyers as early as 2019.
While Bill Gates had stepped down from the boards of Microsoft Corp., which he founded, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ostensibly to devote more time to philanthropy, but it was later revealed that he had been pressured to leave over a prior relationship with a staffer.
French Gates received stock from Cascade Investment in excess of $3 billion since the split announcement. This was a company controlled by her ex-spouse. Bloomberg reported that Gates, 65 years old, is worth at least $150 billion. Bloomberg said that although it is not clear how much the Gates French might end up with in the community-property states, Bloomberg stated that the judge considered their division plan “juste and equitable”.
As they were negotiating their divorce, the couple also contributed $15 billion to the foundation