Bill Gates has handed out yet another multi-billion-dollar payment to his ex-wife, Melinda. Having roughly paid her a staggering $76 billion earlier (roughly 5 years back in 2021), during their high-profile divorce, making it the most expensive divorce ever.
Gates met Melinda way back in 1987, and the pair married 7 years later in 1994. 27 years later, they filed for divorce, with Gates’ alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein reportedly among Melinda’s concerns. They did not have a prenuptial agreement at the time of divorce, and the assets were split based on the separation agreement that they had (terms not fully disclosed).
Why did Bill Gates just hand out another multi-billion-dollar payment to his ex-wife?
Having already paid Melinda a staggering $76 billion in 2021, one might wonder why Gates paid out $8 billion this time around. The said amount, according to tax filings, has been paid out to Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, Melinda’s private foundation.
This was actually a part of a $12.5 billion-dollar-agreement, following Melinda stepping down as the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, back in 2024. An initial amount of $7.88 billion, had already been transferred back in 2024, from Bill Gates’ Foundation’s assets.
Now, as per the latest reports, the entire $12.5 billion has been settled; the remaining $4.62 billion has been transferred as well.
Why prenups matter even for Billionaires?
The divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates ended up as the most expensive ever in recorded history. What Gates has paid Melinda is almost double of what Jeff Bezos paid his ex-wife during their infamous divorce back in 2019.
Bezos, like Gates, did not have a prenup with his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, which resulted in a massive $38 billion settlement. This eventually led to Bezos setting up a detailed and exhaustive prenup with his current wife, Lauren Sanchez.
While both MacKenzie Scott and Melinda have used these settlements to help build philanthropic powerhouses, it still goes to show that prenups matter even for billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
Also read: Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 Million Superyacht Accused of High CO2 Emissions
