Bill Gates transfers $US850 million in stock to ex-wife, Melinda Gates

Tech billionaire Bill Gates has made a major move in his divorce from estranged wife Melinda, as new details emerge about their messy split.

Tech billionaire Bill Gates has transferred $US850 million more in stock to his estranged wife, Melinda, amid their split after 27 years of marriage.

The Microsoft co-founder transferred 2.25 million shares of the equipment manufacturer, Deere, to Melinda through his investment firm on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Cascade Investment, a holding company that Gates formed to manage much of his financial assets, disclosed the transferred shares, which were about 7 per cent of his stake in the manufacturer, on Friday night, the newspaper reported.

The move brought the total value of publicly disclosed transfers to his wife to more than $3 billion since the couple filed for divorce on May 3.

Bill Gates has denied having a personal friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: AFP

It came as Gates denied having a personal friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

People magazine reported that Gates discussed his desire to win a Nobel Prize with the disgraced New York businessman.

There’s no suggestion that Gates was aware of Epstein’s wrongdoing at the time of their conversations.

Meantime, a source told People that Gates and Epstein had a “business connection and had to do with fundraising” and it was a point of contention in his marriage.

“There was a legitimate philanthropic side to this, and they had spoken about the Nobel Prize and what they could do to work towards that,” the source said.

The divorce between Melinda Gates and Bill Gates has taken a messy turn. Picture: AFP

The alleged friendship between Gates and Epstein was said to be a factor in the demise of Bill and Melinda’s marriage, and the source added that “Melinda didn’t want him having anything to do with Epstein,” according to People.

The transferred shares come just days after it was revealed Gates had an affair with a Microsoft employee,New York Post reports.

Microsoft hired an outside law firm to investigate a relationship between Gates and a company engineer, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The woman penned a letter about her relationship over the years with Gates, the newspaper reported. She demanded changes to her job and also asked that Melinda read her letter.

The company’s board became aware of the letter in 2019 and brought in a law firm to investigate before Gates stepped down to focus on his philanthropy.

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesman said.

A Gates spokeswoman also acknowledged the relationship, “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably”.

WHY DID GATES LEAVE?

Bill Gates left Microsoft’s board in 2020 after members decided he needed to step down as they investigated his alleged affair with a female Microsoft employee, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal reports theMicrosoft co-founder resigned before the investigation was complete.

His spokeswoman said the affair was nearly 20 years ago and his decision to step down was not related to the investigation.

It comes as The New York Times reports the tech mogul “pursued” several female employees at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation while he was married.

New details have emerged about Bill Gates exit from the board of Microsoft. Picture: AFP

On one occasion, Mr Gates reportedly emailed a female Microsoft employee in 2006 asking her out to dinner.

“If this makes you uncomfortable, pretend it never happened,” Mr Gates wrote in an email to the employee, according to the report.

The woman was uncomfortable and pretended Mr Gates never asked her out, the Times reported.

Some years later, Mr Gates reportedly asked out another woman who worked for the Gates’ charitable foundation.

The woman told The Times she felt uncomfortable and laughed to avoid responding.

Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce earlier this month. Picture: Getty Images

Bridgitt Arnold, a spokesperson for Mr Gates, told The Times that the “rumours and speculation surrounding Gates’ divorce are becoming increasingly absurd, and it’s unfortunate that people who have little to no knowledge of the situation are being characterised as ‘sources’,”.

The former couple announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage in a joint statement earlier this month.

Court documents showed that Melinda filed for divorce and stated in the petition that their marriage was “irretrievably broken”.

The documents also revealed that the Gates’s don’t have a prenuptial agreement in place, but will divide their assets according to a separation agreement.

Mr Gates was formerly the world’s richest person and his fortune is estimated at well over $100 billion.

The now-former couple met after Melinda began working at Microsoft as a product manager in 1987, and tied the knot in 1994.

Originally published as Bill Gates transfers $US850 million in stock to ex-wife, Melinda Gates