The mega-billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates, who have emerged as a philanthropy powerhouse with a foundation named after themselves, are divorcing because their 27-year marriage has "irretrievably broken".
As a married couple, Bill and Melinda Gates have spent decades amassing one of the greatest fortunes in history. Now that they are divorcing, they have to sort out that USD 146 billion.
According to US regulatory filings dated May 3, Bill Gates had created a holding company 'Cascade Investment' with his Microsoft Corp. winnings and had transferred securities worth more than USD 1.8 billion to Melinda French Gates, reported Bloomberg.
The shift comprised about USD 1.5 billion of Canadian National Railway Co. shares and more than USD 300 million of AutoNation Inc. stock.
Cascade currently holds securities valued at more than USD 50 billion, including stakes in Republic Services Inc., Deere & Co. and Ecolab Inc.
One of the ex-couple's biggest asset is the Cascade Investment which has transferred 14.1 million shares to Melinda, and has 87.3 million shares belonging to Bill Gates.
Gates Foundation
The couple established the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. It is one of the world's largest charitable organizations, with a focus on public health, education and climate change.
The foundation ended 2019 with net assets of USD 43.3 billion, the last full-year financials disclosed on its website.
From 1994 through 2018, Bill and Melinda Gates gave the foundation more than USD 36 billion, according to the foundation's website.
"Bill and Melinda will remain co-chairs and trustees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," a spokesperson for the foundation wrote in an emailed statement, as per Bloomberg.
It is also said that the real details regarding the division of their wealth may never come out, as most of it has been hidden behind their private contracts.
The financial magazine Forbes has estimated Bill Gates is worth more than USD 100 billion.
