At the top of the month, Bill and Melinda Gates announced they were seeking a divorce after 27 years of marriage. Following the announcement, subsequent information about the details of their separation began to leak into the press. Some reports allege that Bill Gates' connection to Jeffrey Epstein contributed to Melinda's decision, while new details allege Bill pursued Microsoft employees and sought love advice from Epstein.
Now, the Microsoft corporation is confirming that shortly before stepping down from his position on the board of directors, Bill was being investigated for having an "intimate relationship with a company employee."
The tech giant confirmed Monday (May 17) that an unnamed person introduced the allegations more than 20 years ago in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. The company explained they hired an outside law firm in the latter half of 2019 to conduct the investigation and "provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern." The following year, Gates announced his stepping down from the company's board to focus on his work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Microsoft did not provide additional details about the investigation in the statement nor about what led to Gates' decision to step down. A spokesperson for Gates admitted on Sunday that, "there was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably."
"Bil''s decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter," the spokesperson said. "In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier."
Bill has transferred over a billion dollars in Microsoft stock to his estranged wife who is alleged to be staying on a private island to deal with the divorce.
[via]