Bill Gates Pays Ex-Wife Melinda $8 Billion Massive Divorce Payout for Cheating
Bill Gates quietly directed close to $8 billion to the private charitable foundation of his former wife, Melinda French Gates, in a move that ranks among the largest divorce-related financial transfers ever made public.
New tax documents reveal Bill Gates quietly transferred nearly $8 billion to Melinda French Gates’ private foundation, one of the largest divorce-related payouts ever disclosed.
The $7.88 billion contribution was completed in 2024 and sent to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, a nonprofit established by French Gates. Details of the transaction emerged through a newly released tax filing reviewed by the New York Times’ DealBook.
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This disclosure represents the first time specific financial terms connected to the couple’s 2021 divorce have entered the public record, following their decision in 2024 to formally separate their shared philanthropic efforts.
When French Gates stepped down as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she stated that the divorce settlement included billions of dollars earmarked to support her independent initiatives focused on women and families.
Soon after the couple’s separation, Gates transferred billions of dollars in stock to his former spouse through Cascade Investment, his private holding and investment company.
Beyond stock transfers, the settlement also included a division of assets such as real estate valued at more than $170 million, an art collection estimated at roughly $130 million, and a substantial holding of Microsoft shares. According to Forbes, these arrangements left French Gates with assets estimated at $25 billion.
The newly disclosed payment stemmed from a separate charitable agreement linked to French Gates’ departure from the Gates Foundation. Under that arrangement, Gates committed $12.5 billion to support her independent philanthropy. Of that total, $7.88 billion went to Pivotal Philanthropies, while the remaining approximately $4.6 billion is believed to have been directed to Pivotal Ventures, a limited liability company that is not subject to public financial disclosure.
For years, the standard reference point for high-profile billionaire divorces was the 2019 split between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, which resulted in the transfer of around $38 billion in Amazon stock to Scott.
That separation was widely viewed as relatively straightforward, standing in contrast to the Gates divorce, which unfolded over several years through phased stock transfers, real estate divisions, and a delayed multibillion-dollar separation of philanthropic assets.
In May 2021, Bill and Melinda French Gates announced their plans to divorce, stating they no longer believed they could “grow together.” The announcement followed years of private difficulties and increasing public attention on Gates’ conduct and associations. The divorce was finalized in August 2021.
French Gates later pointed to Gates’ meetings with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a significant factor in the breakdown of the marriage, saying the relationship deeply troubled her and ultimately eroded trust beyond repair.
Strains in the marriage were further intensified by revelations that Gates had an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000, as well as later email exchanges with another female employee in 2008 that were deemed inappropriate. Those interactions prompted a board review years later.
Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020, several months before the divorce was publicly announced.
In 2022, French Gates launched Pivotal Philanthropies as part of the broader Pivotal organization, which was created to pursue independent grantmaking and impact investing centered on women, families, and social progress.
Following the multibillion-dollar funding boost, the foundation surged into the top ranks of U.S. philanthropy last year, reporting nearly $7 billion in assets and transforming from a relatively modest operation into one of the nation’s largest private grantmaking entities, according to DealBook. The publication also noted that by the end of 2023, Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation reported assets totaling $604 million.
Operating alongside the foundation is Pivotal Ventures, an LLC that allows French Gates to support charitable grants, investments, and advocacy initiatives with greater flexibility and without the disclosure requirements that apply to traditional nonprofit organizations.
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