Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Bill Gates, on Monday announced the dissolution of his 27 years old marriage with his wife Melinda.
Gates announced the divorce via his verified Twitter handle @BillGates, stunning his 54.7million followers.
He tweeted: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.
“Over the last 27 years, 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.
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.
“We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
Bill and Melinda presently co-chair the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the former had stepped down from Microsoft’s board and began spending more time on the nonprofit organisation which was founded in 2000.
They met at Microsoft while she had been a marketing manager at the software company.
Gates owns 1.37 per cent of Microsoft’s outstanding shares, which are worth more than $26 billion. He had donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.
