Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have announced that their divorce after 27 years of marriage. The 65-year-old Microsoft founder and his 56-year-old spouse dropped the bombshell news in a joint statement on <a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1389316412259270657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> on Monday, May 3. In a message shared with his 54.7 million followers on the platform, Bill Gates wrote: <blockquote>"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage."</blockquote> [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1389316412259270657]] The statement continues: "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." <img class=" wp-image-1263105776" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/05/bill_melinda_gates_1-1.jpeg" alt="Bill and Melinda Gates." width="747" height="389" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy]] They added: "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. "We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life. According to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56975466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC News</a>, the couple first met in 1987 at a trade fair in New York, after Melinda (neé French) joined Microsoft to work as a marketing manager. Gates, currently estimated by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a> to be the fourth wealthiest man in the world, married Melinda in a private ceremony held in Hawaii in 1994. They went on to have three children together: Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory. <img class=" wp-image-1263105779" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/05/bill_gates-1.jpeg" alt="Bill Gates. " width="810" height="422" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy]] The pair went on to kickstart a number of high-profile philanthropic initiatives, including the jointly-managed Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to this, the couple also publically championed the so-called "Giving Pledge", which calls upon billionaires to commit to giving away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. Gates himself <a href="https://vt.co/news/world/bill-gates-steps-down-from-microsoft-board" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped down from Microsoft's board of directors in March of 2020</a> to focus more on his philanthropism. <img class=" wp-image-1263100161" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/03/Bill-Gates-FI-Website.jpg" alt="Bill Gates." width="843" height="439" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy]] In a statement posted on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/focusing-my-time-bill-gates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>, Gates wrote that he wanted to "maintain the friendships and partnerships that have meant the most to me continue to contribute to two companies of which I am incredibly proud, and effectively prioritize my commitment to addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges." <h6>Featured Image Credit: Alamy</h6>

Bill Gates splits from wife Melinda after 27 years of marriage

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