UNITED STATES: Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda Gates filed for a divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage. However, the founders of ‘The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’ has pledged to continue their philanthropic work together.
In a joint petition for dissolution of marriage, the couple asserted their legal union was “irretrievably broken,” but said they had reached agreement on how to divide their marital assets.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the two said in a joint statement posted on each of their individual Twitter accounts.
“We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” they said.
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For around 20 years, the foundation has been committed to tackle the greatest inequities in the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become one of the most influential forces in global public health. Over the past two decades, the foundation has spent more than $50 billion to combat poverty and diseases. The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines.
Launched in 2000, the non-profit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ranks as the largest private philanthropic foundation in the United States. According to the reports, the foundation has a net asset of $43.3 billion.
