The news: Melinda Gates has been working with divorce lawyers since 2019, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Bill and Melinda Gates last week announced a decision to end their marriage after 27 years.
The details: It’s still unclear what caused the split, but WSJ and The Daily Beast reported on how Melinda Gates was concerned with her husband’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Daily Beast reported last week that Melinda Gates, a prominent supporter of women and girls’ rights, was “furious” after she and Bill met with Epstein in 2013.
When details emerged of the reported connections between Bill Gates and Epstein, a Gates representative previously said in 2019 that “any account of a business partnership or personal relationship” between Gates and Epstein “is simply not true.”
Other tidbits: The Gateses worked out their divorce throughout the pandemic, WSJ noted. Melinda Gates’ lawyers include Robert Stephan Cohen, who has represented Michael Bloomberg, Ivana Trump, and others. Bill Gates’ lawyers include Ronald Olson, who has repped Mark Zuckerberg and co-founded his firm with billionaire Charlie Munger, the vice chairman at Berkshire Hathaway and buddy of Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett — one of Bill Gates’ closest friends.
