By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Bill Gates, the fourth richest man in the world with a fortune of $124billion, and his wife Melinda are divorcing after 27 years of marriage.
The 65-year-old Microsoft founder and his 56-year-old wife announced the split on Twitter on Monday.
They both posted the same joint statement which read: ‘After a great deal of thought and a lot of work, we have made the decision to end our 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. We continue to share a belief in tat mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.
‘We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.’
The couple have three kids; Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 18.
It comes less than two weeks after they made their last public appearance, virtually, at a COVID event for healthcare workers.
Gates was already a billionaire when the pair got married in the early 1990s. He founded Microsoft in 1975 and became the world’s youngest billionaire in 1987 at the age of 31. He also met Melinda that year.
According to Dailymail, they married six years later but he deliberated over it and, according to previous interviews given by Melinda, even made a list of pros and cons for marriage on a whiteboard.
