Reports emerging in the US media indicates that Melinda Gates, the estranged wife billionaire Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates may have chosen divorce as a strategy to get a bigger inheritance for their children than their father planned to give them.
The Gates’ had long made a public decision to leave their children Rory, Phoebe and Jennifer only US$10 million each, despite Bill Gates’ estimated $124 billion fortune.
Bill and Melinda Gates have previously indicated that all assets will be divided according to a pre-arranged separation agreement, which means their fortunes will go mostly to charity as their kids kept on US$10 million each.
But based on Melinda’s choice of lawyers for the divorce hearing, sources say there’s a chance she is considering changing that.
Page Six quoted two high-profile attorneys who said after reviewing the divorce filing, they noted that prominent trust and estate lawyers are named in the case, which is an unusual situation for a divorce.
Bill and Melinda’s separation had initially seemed amicable with the former couple releasing a calm statement about their shared intent to continue philanthropic ventures together.
“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,” they said in their initial announcement. “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.”
But recent reports of an alleged a long relationship between Bill Gates and late billionaire financier and pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein plus the Bills alleged affair with a former Microsoft employee have made Melinda reconsider her options.
Melinda’s intentions is said to be manifest in her choice of lawyers for the divorce hearing.
Divorce attorneys, Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha Cohen Stine, whose former clients include New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the ex-wives of Harvey and Bob Weinstein, are reported to have have said the inclusion of trust and estate lawyers as Melinda’s representatives suggested she might be looking to modify previous agreements of how much money the wanted to leave for their kids.
Newman Cohen said “Bill Gates proudly announced to the world he was leaving $10 million to each of his three children, and that the rest of the billions will be left to charity – [but] now that Melinda has control, maybe she wanted to leave more for her children than $10 million each. Maybe she didn’t agree.”
The lawyers added that, given the Gates’ substantial fortune, leaving the sum of $10 million would be “tantamount to disinheriting the children,” and suggested that Melinda might be “like every other woman…protecting her children.”
They believe this is Melinda chance to get her children some more money if indeed that is what she wanted, and if indeed US$10 million inheritance could be considered has disinheritance.
