Melinda Gates has given her iciest response yet on being reminded ex-husband Bill considers their divorce ‘at the top of the list’ of his greatest failures.
‘I don’t even quite know what to make of that statement, so I’m not going to comment on what he says,’ the tycoon’s ex-wife answered when she was asked about it by The Sunday Times.
She then gave a short pause, then added: ‘He’s got his own life. I have my life now. I’m very happy.’
Gates’ did not refer to her billionaire ex by his name while discussing him, hinting further at the level of distaste she holds for him.
‘It was something that was necessary,’ Gates said of the split. ‘If you can’t live your values inside your most intimate relationship, it was necessary.’
The 60-year-old philanthropist separated from the Microsoft founder in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage and having three children together, receiving an estimated settlement of $12.5 billion from one of the world’s richest men.
Their marriage broke down after what Melinda calls ‘deeply disturbing’ revelations emerged about Bill’s relations with Jeffrey Epstein, along with rumors he had affairs with a Microsoft employee in 2000 and a young Russian bridge player 10 years later.
Melinda got an estimated $30 billion of her husband’s $150 billion Microsoft fortune and now runs a glitzy philanthropy organization called Pivotal Ventures in Seattle.
Melinda Gates has given a scathing response to Bill Gates saying their divorce was ‘at the top of the list’ of his greatest failures – describing it from her perspective as simply ‘necessary’
The 60-year-old philanthropist separated from the Microsoft founder in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage and having three children together, receiving an estimated settlement of $12.5 billion from one of the world’s richest men
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is pictured at Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2011
Melinda previously rolled her eyes in response to Bill’s emotional comment about their divorce, according to Elle magazine who asked her about the same remark in mid-March.
Since 2022, Bill has been dating Paula Hurd, the widow of the former Oracel CEO Mark Hurd, while Melinda is enjoying dating.
She told the Times she meets met ‘through friends’. Smiling, she added: ‘I have had so many friends introduce me to people and it’s been lovely.’
When asked whether men are intimidated by her enormous wealth and status, she said: ‘I’m sure some are and some aren’t. But I’m not really looking for somebody who would be intimidated by my status. That kind of rules them out, right?’
In her upcoming memoir, The Next Day, which is due to be released on Tuesday, Melinda describes the decline of her marriage, starting in the autumn of 2019 when their problems had ‘reached fever pitch’.
She recalls how the New York Times had just published a ‘deeply disturbing article’ about her husband’s business meetings over a charitable fund with pedophile sex trafficker Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial.
Melinda said the article ‘raised serious questions about Bill’s conduct — questions that suggested he had betrayed not only our marriage but also our values’, according to the Times who have had an advance viewing of the book.
Melinda Gates and Bill Gates attend The Robin Hood Foundation’s 2018 benefit at Jacob Javitz Center on May 14, 2018 in New York City
‘Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so,’ a spokeswoman for the tech tycoon said at the time.
‘He recognizes that entertaining Epstein’s ideas related to philanthropy gave Epstein an undeserved platform that was at odds with Gates’s personal values and the values of his foundation.’
Melinda also wrote in the memoir that the night she asked Bill to move out was ‘one of the scariest conversations I’ve ever had’.
It came after they took a trip to Santa Fe in New Mexico in February 2020, in a final attempt to try to save their marriage.
The billionaire philanthropist said she suffered frequent panic attacks during the divorce negotiations, to the point she had to call her therapist in the middle of the night.
When asked when she last had a panic attack, she told the Times: ‘Probably during the negotiations of my divorce.
‘When you’re leaving a marriage, it’s very, very hard. And the negotiations were tough.’
Bill and Melinda Gates are pictured in 1998. The couple’s marriage ended in 2021 over Bill’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and multiple rumored affairs
Bill Gates was pictured with his girlfriend Paula Hurd at this year’s so-called billionaire’s summer camp in Sun Valley, Idaho, in the summer
The couple share three children together – Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22. Jennifer has two children, shared with her husband Nayel Nassar.
Bill said he would be leaving his children less than one percent of his fortune – but this still amounts to $500 million each.
Melinda spoke with the Times at the headquarters of her company, Pivotal Ventures, in Redmond on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington.
She founded Pivotal Ventures in 2015 while co-running the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
They separated in 2021, and she resigned from the foundation in 2024 to focus on Pivotal, which aims to accelerate social progress and advance women’s power and influence.
