From Tech Power Couple to High-Profile Split
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the richest people in the world, met Melinda French in 1987 while she worked at Microsoft. They married in 1994 and went on to co-chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world.
After nearly three decades together, the couple announced in May 2021 that they were divorcing, saying they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple.” Their divorce was finalized in August 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
The Divorce Settlement: Billions at Stake
Unlike many high-net-worth couples, Bill and Melinda Gates did not sign a prenuptial agreement before they married in 1994, even though Gates was already a billionaire at the time.
Because they did not have a prenup, Bill and Melinda’s marital property and wealth accumulated over decades became part of their divorce negotiation. Public records and tax filings have since revealed some of the financial terms of that settlement:
- Bill Gates reportedly transferred nearly $8 billion to Melinda’s Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation as part of the settlement, one of the largest recorded divorce-related gifts.
- Additional disclosures suggest Melinda gained approximately $12.5 billion to support her work in women’s and family-focused philanthropy.
- Estimates of the overall assets she received — including stocks, real estate, and other holdings — range into the tens of billions.
Bill and Melinda’s divorce was filed in Washington State, which is, like California, a no-fault jurisdiction and a community property state. Meaning everything gained during the marriage must be divided equally upon divorce, as reflected in Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce settlement.
The Big Picture
The Gates divorce was a reminder that:
- Wealth, length of marriage, and complex asset portfolios make asset division uniquely challenging.
- Legal tools like a prenup or postnup allow couples to define terms that govern asset division outside of strict statutory formulas.
- Planning ahead — whether through prenups, postnups, or early negotiation — helps clarify expectations and reduce uncertainty even when a marriage ends after decades together.
