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Bill and Melinda Gates divorce settlement revealed

The long-awaited details of the billionaire couple’s divorce have been finalised, with Melinda Gates insisting she will not change her surname.

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Bill and Melinda Gates have finalised the details of their divorce four months after publicly announcing they wanted to end their marriage.

The billionaire couple met in 1987 and eloped to Hawaii in 1994 – so they had been married for 27 years.

However, in May of this year they announced their split, citing the reason as “we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives”.

Melinda French Gates filed for divorce after engaging divorce lawyers in 2019, when it emerged her then-husband was linked to a scandal with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the days since their divorce was announced, other scandals to do with Bill Gates’ litany of affairs and sexual harassment claims in the workplace have come to light.

On Monday local time, a Washington judge approved the Gates’ split and they agreed to a divorce settlement, according to court documents reported by CNN.

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Melinda Gates and Bill Gates together in 2018 in New York City. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Melinda Gates and Bill Gates together in 2018 in New York City. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

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How much will Melinda get after divorce?

The couple’s agreement to the divorce hinged on a separation contract which outlined how they would divvy up their property, debts and court fees incurred; however, that was not made public as it was not filed in the court proceedings.

As of Monday, the Microsoft founder had a net worth of $US131 billion ($A177 billion), according to Forbes.

However, other elements of their divorce were revealed during the court proceedings.

The divorcees won’t have to foot any kinds of bills for child support, as all three of their children are adults.

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 1998. Picture: Jeff Christensen/Getty Images
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 1998. Picture: Jeff Christensen/Getty Images

Ms French Gates does not have plans any time soon to change her name.

On top of that, the ex-partners will continue to run their charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together.

However, the foundation said last month that it reserved the right to remove Ms French Gates from the organisation, if the couple cannot get along.

Ms French Gates has two years to trial working there, otherwise she can step down and Mr Gates will have to buy her out of the charity.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/wealth/bill-and-melinda-gates-divorce-settlement-revealed/news-story/0974fd102cd6c11397755b08ddb71f14