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After Bill and Melinda Gates’ announced their divorce on Monday, documents revealed the couple never had a pre-nuptial agreement. Many watchers are now wondering how the couple, with a combined net worth of about $130 billion, will split their assets
Gates, the world’s fourth richest man, had spoken in the past about how each of his three children will only inherit about $10 million of his fortune, The Sun reports.
When asked about rumours that he would only leave his three children-Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe $10million each during a Reddit AMA session in 2013, Gates explained that it was for their benefit.
“I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Gates’ first child, Jennifer, has reacted to the divorce statement issued by her parents.
Jennifer, 25, wrote on Instragram: “I’m still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as my family members at this time and am grateful for the space to do so.”
Bill, 64, was a geeky young man when he started what would become the world’s most valuable company, and was for a time the world’s richest man and most prominent philanthropist.
He stepped down as Microsoft chief executive in 2008 to devote more time to philanthropy and later left the board, keeping only the title of “founder and technology advisor.”
Melinda, 56, met Bill at Microsoft in 1987, shortly after she joined the tech firm, and the pair married in 1994.
Their Foundation is among the world’s richest, having provided more than $54 billion in grants over two decades in areas including malaria and infectious disease control, agricultural research, basic health care and sanitation in various parts of the world. It has an endowment of more than $46 billion.
The couple has donated $45 billion through the Foundation since its inception, including $1.75 billion to fighting COVID-19.