Billionaire Bill Gates quit Microsoft board in 2021 over probe of 'romantic affair' with employee

"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," Microsoft said in a statement. "A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern."

For his part, Bill Gates had said that he had decided to step down from the board to devote more time to philanthropy. 

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and served as its CEO until 2000. He was chairman of software giant until February 2014.

A spokeswoman for Gates, however, asserted that the billionaire did not quit Microsoft board due to his romantic involvement with an employee.

"There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably," she said, adding that his "decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter."

Bill Gates and his wife for 27 years recently left everyone in shock by announcing that they have decided to split after remaining together for so long.