Bill Gates worth $130B getting a divorce

[Nick12]

Wasn't a lot of his stock grants before he got married?

I think he was already considered the richest man in the world at the time.

Also, he did the giving pledge, may have actually started it.

He planned to give most of his wealth to his foundation, got Buffett to pledge the same. Presumably the wife was on board with this all along.

When Windows was a smash hit, at least through the early 90s, he was known for penny-pinching, flying coach, digging for coupons at stores.

Presumably he's not flying commercial any more.

I've known some me included that fly coach, penny pinch, save invest, live below means, etc and that allowed me to FIRE early.

 

[Letj]

It really doesn’t matter if the wife gets half the fortune. Money at this point means nothing. They don’t need it and they can’t spend it.

 

[Calico]

Their biggest argument is going to be who takes the house.

Who wants the upkeep, taxes and utilities on 66,000 square feet?

He says, Not Me. She says, Not Me.

No one else has the money to live in such a custom built structure.

I imagine there is a sheikh or two or three (or an oligarch or two) who can afford it.

 

[explanade]

A new buyer would have to really love the Pacific NW to buy a home like that. Maybe like the national parks, wilderness in that part of the country.

Otherwise most people prefer sunnier climes.

 

[Nick12]

I imagine there is a sheikh or two or three (or an oligarch or two) who can afford it.

There is a rumor that Gates built a bunker underneath his mansion but a few billionaires have bought bunker type homes in New Zealand to protect them from a nuclear fallout.

 

[W2R]

So sad! And didn't Jeff Bezos also get divorced a year or two back, also? All that money but neither Gates nor Bezos seems to have found happiness in recent years.

I hope they both end up as "happily divorced" as I am. Still, divorce can be tough to go through (even when there aren't billions involved).

 

[njhowie]

When it comes to personal issues I think we all want privacy.

True. But then why go and announce it to the world on Twitter?

 

[Nick12]

True. But then why go and announce it to the world on Twitter?

Gates wanted to tweet his divorce to the world via Twitter. He could have used Facebook which had more users. It looks like tweets and posts can be more of a breaking news platform compared to the traditional news outlets. Some I know catch breaking news with their face glued to their phones compared to watching the news on TV. Gates has openly said each of his three children will only inherit $10M each.

 

[FlaGator]

Evidence that public faces of a happy marriage and partnership can belie realty. At least no one is moving back in with their mother….

 

[Winemaker]

It's none of our business, just 2 people who decided to part ways. Either one was tired of the other's politics, or the amount of time spent together, or perhaps there is one who is more supportive of their causes, outside of the existing marriage. In any event, who cares?

 

[RunningBum]

True. But then why go and announce it to the world on Twitter?

Because the news will come out sooner or later anyway, so why not have your control of the message that is announced, rather than wild speculation?

 

[RAE]

In fairness, I have to say I honestly have a lot of sympathy for them. We think of great riches as buying great freedom, but it can actually be the opposite..

Well, I'll have to respectfully disagree with this, at least in the case of Bill Gates. Gates is someone who has always sought the spotlight, including after leaving Microsoft. The man has a large ego, to put it mildly, and I think he enjoys using his obscene wealth to influence policy matters across the globe. It bothers me that someone who has never been elected to any office has so much influence in matters that affect the lives of millions of people. Personally, I would much rather have people with backgrounds in science developing policy regarding things like nutrition and human disease control, as opposed to Bill Gates. I have no idea why he and his wife are getting divorced........that's a private matter. I am just giving my opinion on Bill Gates as a person.

 

[Nick12]

It's none of our business, just 2 people who decided to part ways. Either one was tired of the other's politics, or the amount of time spent together, or perhaps there is one who is more supportive of their causes, outside of the existing marriage. In any event, who cares?

The 3rd or 4th richest person in the world getting a divorce is newsworthy. Expect more and more breaking news to be announced on social media ( aka Facebook / Twitter ). Less speculation from news media because it is coming straight from the source.

 

[Dash man]

Expect more and more breaking news to be announced on social media

And some of it might even be true!

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Its possible Melinda thought Bill's Micro was too Soft.

 

[Music Lover]

Maybe she was tired of someone with no medical background expertise thinking that he's qualified to give medical advice to the world.

 

[Music Lover]

Well, I'll have to respectfully disagree with this, at least in the case of Bill Gates. Gates is someone who has always sought the spotlight, including after leaving Microsoft. The man has a large ego, to put it mildly, and I think he enjoys using his obscene wealth to influence policy matters across the globe. It bothers me that someone who has never been elected to any office has so much influence in matters that affect the lives of millions of people. Personally, I would much rather have people with backgrounds in science developing policy regarding things like nutrition and human disease control, as opposed to Bill Gates. I have no idea why he and his wife are getting divorced........that's a private matter. I am just giving my opinion on Bill Gates as a person.

Well stated.

 

[harley]

Well, I'll have to respectfully disagree with this, at least in the case of Bill Gates. Gates is someone who has always sought the spotlight, including after leaving Microsoft. The man has a large ego, to put it mildly, and I think he enjoys using his obscene wealth to influence policy matters across the globe. It bothers me that someone who has never been elected to any office has so much influence in matters that affect the lives of millions of people. Personally, I would much rather have people with backgrounds in science developing policy regarding things like nutrition and human disease control, as opposed to Bill Gates. I have no idea why he and his wife are getting divorced........that's a private matter. I am just giving my opinion on Bill Gates as a person.

After starting and being involved in the Gates Foundation for all these years, I suspect Bill Gates has far more knowledge about human disease control than almost any politician out there. I'm sure many doctors know more than him, but they don't make policy either. I've never understood why people would think he'd be ignorant about the subject that he and his wife have devoted their later lives and a significant part of their wealth to.

Personally, I owe him a lot of credit for my FIRE. I worked on my Megacorp's migration from Windows 3.0 to 3.1. By the time it was over I hated MS so much that I bought a bunch of AAPL stock as a protest. It had a cost basis of about $9 when I sold it at $185. I'd never have bought it without Bill and his company.

 

[Music Lover]

After starting and being involved in the Gates Foundation for all these years, I suspect Bill Gates has far more knowledge about human disease control than almost any politician out there. I'm sure many doctors know more than him, but they don't make policy either. I've never understood why people would think he'd be ignorant about the subject that he and his wife have devoted their later lives and a significant part of their wealth to.

There are plenty of highly qualified medical experts out there so why would anyone to listen to Gates? I don't ask my doctor how to fix my PC.

That seems to be the trend today though...listen to Gates for medical information, a teenager for climate policy, a basketball player for policing issues, etc. No wonder people are so uninformed.

 

[Texas Proud]

One TV show seemed to indicate that Melinda wanted to be 'equal'...


They said that Bill was doing more cooking and cleaning...



SOOOO, wonder who Melinda is going to find that will cater to her needs...

 

[Calico]

 

[travelover]

Just when he was about to be able to retire comfortably - slammed with alimony payments. Grey divorce sucks.

 

[Nick12]

Just when he was about to be able to retire comfortably - slammed with alimony payments. Grey divorce sucks.

No child support for Bill. His kids ages 18-25 as told by him on a previous occasion only get $10M each and no other part of his net worth. Bill and Melinda after 27 years hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE on their marriage.

 

[Nick12]

Well, I'll have to respectfully disagree with this, at least in the case of Bill Gates. Gates is someone who has always sought the spotlight, including after leaving Microsoft. The man has a large ego, to put it mildly, and I think he enjoys using his obscene wealth to influence policy matters across the globe. It bothers me that someone who has never been elected to any office has so much influence in matters that affect the lives of millions of people. Personally, I would much rather have people with backgrounds in science developing policy regarding things like nutrition and human disease control, as opposed to Bill Gates. I have no idea why he and his wife are getting divorced........that's a private matter. I am just giving my opinion on Bill Gates as a person.

The ones who took me under their wing to groom me had the largest egos. I'm grateful for their guidance and wisdom.

 

[sengsational]

There's a show on HBO Max called "Made for Love" that's about a super rich couple marriage strife. Kind of a tragicomedy thing. I kind of liked the show...8 short episodes of quirky strangeness