Within less than two years, the richest man Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott announced their divorce, now, the fourth richest man Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, have also announced separation. The couple, who has been married for 27 years, reported a surprising part of their marriage that he took vacations with his ex-girlfriend, Ann Winblad, even after marriage.
So, what are the detailed information of their divorce settlement? So, how much will Melinda get from the divorce? Also, who will get $131 million worth of lakefront estate in the Seattle suburbs? Know everything below:
Bill Gates And Melinda Gates Are Separating!
American business magnate announced the separation from his philanthropist wife, Melinda Ann Gates, via Twitter. The couple, who has been married for 27 years, claimed that their marriage is irretrievably broken.
Both Bill and Melinda posted the same joint statement on their respective Twitter. The tweet mentioned that they would be working together at the foundation but can no longer grow together as a couple.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
The tweet reads:
We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.
The news of their separation comes just less than two weeks since they made their last public appearance virtually at a COVID event for health workers and management.
The couple’s eldest daughter Jennifer admitted that the family is going through a challenging time. She even took her Instagram to open up about her parents’ divorce.
Breakdown of the Billionaire’s Wealth
Everyone is clear with the fact that most of his money is tied to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the exact figure of money is yet to be disclosed.
The Gates have also founded the Giving Pledge, in which the billionaires give away more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. Because of the foundation, it may be more complicated than expected to divide the couple’s assets.
According to the court documents, the couple does not have a prenuptial agreement but has a separation agreement, but the terms are not made public.
As they also do not have prenuptial agreements to help to divide their wealth, real estate, properties, luxury cars, private jet, and art collection, the division is expected to be much more complicated.
Who Gets To Keep $131 million Worth Xanadu 2.0?
Right after the divorce announcement, everyone is gazing over to know about their settlement. Many were curious about their $131 million worth of family mansion among all those properties and real estate owned by the couple.
Xanadu 2.0 covers an area of 66,000 square feet on the shore of Lake Washington. The villa includes a spa, gym paneled with stone from the Pacific Northwest mountain peak, a 60-foot pool, stream of salmon, trout, and fishes, a trampoline room, and many others.
CAPTION: Bill and Melinda Gates $131 million Worth Xanadu 2.0 mansion SOURCE: NY Times
The Gates family, till the date, has not revealed anything about the waterfront compound. Back in 2009, the property tour was sold at a charity auction for worth $35 thousand.
It is still revealed about who will be getting the mansion. But, once Melinda expressed not continuing to live in the villa. The philanthropist admitted to the desire to live in a smaller house.
In 2009, while speaking with The Times, she said:
I’m actually really looking forward to the day that Bill and I live in a 1,500-square foot house.
Cars And Arts Collection
The worth of the Gates’ car collection is worth $650 thousand. They own expensive cars like a Porsche 911, Porsche Carrera Cabriolet 964, Jaguar XJ6, 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe, and a Ferrari 349.
Similarly, Bill is also widely recognized for his extensive art collection that worth $130 million. His art collection includes the works done by Leonardo da Vinci, Winslow Homer, and Andrew Wyeth.
Other Real Estates
Gates have properties in five states. It is reported that the worth of their real estate portfolio is over $166 million. They also own a 30-acre estate in Wellington, Florida, that costs around $55 million.
In California, they also own two more properties, a stake in the property in Del Mar worth $20 million and $1 million worth of property in Indian Wells. They also have a private island in Belize which they call Grand Bogue Caye. The estimated price of the island is $25 million.
Philanthropy
Bill and Melinda are regarded to be one of the most philanthropists in the world. Over the years, they have donated billions of dollars to their foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Back in the 2019 blog post, the couple announced that they have donated $20 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the foundation. As per the tax filing, it now has more than $51 billion in assets.
What About The Rest?
Bill’s success started with Microsoft, but now he also owns 19.6% of the wealth, which is $21.6 billion worth. According to Wealth X, the Gates proceeds from bonuses, dividends, investments, stock transactions, and salaries is $19 billion.
As the pair has only recently opened up about their separation, everything about their divorce settlement is yet to be revealed.
SEE: Bill Gates Son, Rory John Gates Net Worth: His Lifestyle and Car Collection