Bill Gates Transferred Over $850 Million In Shares To Melinda Gates Following Bombshell Divorce Announcement: Report
The ink on the divorce papers hasn’t even dried, and Melinda Gates is already racking up!
Bill Gates has transferred more than $850 million in shares from Deere & Co. to his estranged wife, according to the Wall Street Journal. This brings the total of public transfers between the two since their surprise divorce announcement to over $3 billion.
The outlet reported that the shares equal to about 7% of Bill’s stake in the equipment manufacturer and were publicly transferred on Thursday, May 13, and reported the next day by Bill and his investment vehicle, Cascade Investment LLC. “The filing said Mr. Gates received no consideration for the shares,” WSJ disclosed. “After the transfer, Mr. Gates and Cascade still owned nearly 29.3 million shares, or 9.3% of the company, they reported.”
Earlier this month, the Microsoft co-founder reportedly transferred $2.4 billion in stakes of Coca-Cola, a Canadian railroad, AutoNation Inc. and other companies.
As they continue to move forward in the divorce, OK! recently learned that the famous couple may not see eye to eye when it comes to what monetary amount their three children, Jennifer, 25, Rory 21, and Phoebe, 18, will eventually inherit.
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Bill stated in a 2017 Reddit discussion: “I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them… Some people disagree with this but Melinda and I feel good about it.”
However, divorce attorneys Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha Cohen Stine pointed out that Melinda's view may have changed, as she has “well-known trust and estate lawyers involved in the case” to look after her and her children’s best interest. “We see divorces for the reason that the mother wants to protect the children. [Melinda] may be like every other woman… protecting her children,” Cohen said, as previously reported by OK!.
The children’s bank accounts may get a little boost with mama in charge. “Now that Melinda has control — maybe she wanted to leave more to her children than $10 million each. Maybe she didn’t agree,” Cohen added.
As their split continues to play out in the press, it's been reported that Bill's resignation from Microsoft's board of directors in 2020 came after the board hired a law firm to investigate an alleged romantic relationship he had with an employee. The employee "alleged in a letter that she had a sexual relationship over years with Mr. Gates."
Bill and Melinda shocked the world earlier this month when they published a joint statement on May 3 revealing that they were ending their 27-year-old marriage, as they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
