Microsoft founder Bill Gates had an 'inappropriate' sexual relationship with a female staff member in 2000, and resigned while an investigation into the relationship was being investigated by the company board. The affair came to light after the Microsoft employee wrote to the board in 2019 detailing it - and allegedly asked that Gates' estranged wife Melinda Gates, 56, read the letter.
Gates, 65, quit the board suddenly in March 2020 while the investigation was still underway. His spokeswoman confirmed there had been an affair almost 20 years ago but said his decision to leave Microsoft's board was not linked to it. The revelation comes alongside two bombshell reports on the unraveling of the couple's marriage.
The Daily Beast revealed Bill Gates sought marriage advice from convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during dozens of meetings at his $77 million Manhattan townhouse between 2011 and 2014, far more than had previously been reported. And on Sunday, The New York Times reported that Gates asked two women who worked at Microsoft and his philanthropic foundation out on dates while still married to Melinda.
Melinda, who now goes by Melinda French Gates, was also upset at the way allegations of sexual harassment against Michael Larson, one of Gates' key lieutenants and the manager of his personal fortune, were handled. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Microsoft board decided that Gates should step down after the relationship almost two decades earlier was deemed to be 'inappropriate'.
The same day Gates quit Microsoft he also announced he was stepping down from his position with the board of Berkshire Hathaway, run by his friend Warren Buffet. In a press release the tech mogul said he would continue to serve as a technical adviser to Microsoft's Chief Executive Satya Nadella. A Microsoft spokesman told the Wall Street Journal: 'Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000.
'A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.' A spokeswoman for Gates said his decision to leave the board had nothing to do with the affair, saying 'There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.' The spokeswoman told the Journal his 'decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.'
Meanwhile, The Daily Beast reported that Gates told Epstein his marriage to Melinda was 'toxic', which both men found funny. Gates suggested Epstein become involved with the couple's philanthropic organization and 'rehabilitate his image' after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, according to a person who attended the meetings. Gates' visits to Epstein's 'lair' was an escape from the marriage, according to the source, who said the pair 'were very close'.
Bill and Melinda Gates, one of the world's richest couples with a fortune of $130billion, announced this month they were getting divorced, with Melinda saying the marriage is 'irretrievably broken' in divorce filings.