Skip to main content

You make this possible. Support our independent, nonprofit newsroom today.

Give Now

Bill and Melinda Gates announce they are getting divorced

caption: Philanthropists Melinda Gates and Bill Gates prior to being awarded the Legion of Honour at the Elysee Palace in Paris last month.
Enlarge Icon
Philanthropists Melinda Gates and Bill Gates prior to being awarded the Legion of Honour at the Elysee Palace in Paris last month.
AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, Pool

Bill and Melinda Gates announced Monday that they are ending their marriage.

The Microsoft co-founder and his wife, who launched the world’s largest charitable foundation, said they would continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In identical tweets, they said they had made the decision to end their marriage of 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,” they said in a statement. “We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

Last year, Bill Gates, formerly the world’s richest person, said he was stepping down from Microsoft’s board to focus on philanthropy.

Gates was Microsoft’s CEO until 2000 and since then has gradually scaled back his involvement in the company he started with Paul Allen in 1975. He transitioned out of a day-to-day role in Microsoft in 2008 and served as chairman of the board until 2014.



Why you can trust KUOW