Bill Gates and Melinda Gates have officially announced their divorce, and this has rattled fans and followers across the globe. After 27 years of what seemed to be a happy marriage, from the outside looking in, people were stunned to hear that they declared their marriage as being officially over. Almost immediately, conversations turned towards their wealth, with many questions looming about the division of finances, and whether or not this would turn into a bitter battle over the billions of dollars they currently share. Before the rumor mill had a chance to begin turning, the TMZ confirmed that on the very day that their divorce was announced, Bill Gates transferred $1.8 billion worth of stocks into Melinda's name.
All eyes are now on Bill Gates to see what his next financial move will be. He currently sits at a net worth valued at an astounding $146 billion, so the financial relevance in this divorce settlement is a significant one.
Bill and Melinda Gates have been married for 27 years, and it is evident that there are going to be many discussions that need to happen surrounding the division of their assets.
With many properties around the world and bank accounts with big balances, it is unclear to the general public if there are going to be issues surrounding money, or if the couple has already worked out a pre-existing agreement before announcing their divorce publicly.
The mere fact that Bill Gates transferred nearly $2 billion worth of stocks into his soon-to-be-ex-wife's name may suggest a good gesture, but it doesn't necessarily mean this is going to be an amicable breakup. With a $146 billion empire at stake, there's nothing to suggest that a one-time $2 billion transfer is going to be sufficient for Melinda.
Bear in mind, this transfer of stocks doesn't quite correlate to money-in hand. An investment firm called Cascade Investment LLC, which is controlled by Bill himself, transferred shares of two companies to Melinda. TMZ breaks down this transfer by stating explaining the semantics. "Cascade Investment LLC, sent Melinda more than 14 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co. and more than 2.9 million shares of AutoNation Inc." .TMZ goes on to say that the shares are wort upwards of $1.8 billion but that's based on the market, here and now.
Chances are, there's a lot more coming to Melinda that will be in the form of cold hard cash transfers, but one thing that has been firmly clarified is the fact that there was no existing prenup. The division of finances will continue to grasp the headlines as their enormous fortunes lay in limbo.
Sources: TMZ, Wall Street Journal