Bill Gates Transfers $7.88bn to Melinda French Gates’ Charity as Divorce Settlement Details Emerge
A massive post-divorce financial transfer involving Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, has come to light following new tax disclosures, revealing one of the largest charitable-linked divorce settlements ever recorded.
The American billionaire reportedly transferred $7.88 billion (£5.9 billion) to Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2024, a move tied directly to the couple’s 2021 divorce settlement. The donation, obtained by PulseNets through recently filed tax records, represents the first clear breakdown of the financial terms behind the former power couple’s separation.
The filing shows that the multibillion-dollar donation was made in fulfilment of a broader $12.5 billion charitable agreement connected to the divorce. PulseNets learnt that the nearly $8 billion transfer formed a substantial portion of that commitment.
Melinda French Gates formally exited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in May 2024. Despite stepping away from the institution she co-founded, she had earlier proposed that her ex-husband redirect billions toward a new philanthropic vehicle under her sole control.
Speaking to PulseNets, a representative for Pivotal Philanthropies confirmed that the full $12.5 billion agreement has now been honoured, adding that the latest disclosure aligns with the agreed post-divorce framework.
Melinda established Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2022, barely a year after the divorce was finalised. Financial records show that by the end of 2023, the foundation held $604 million in assets, even before the latest multibillion-dollar infusion.
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates ended their marriage in 2021 after 27 years together, setting off what analysts and legal experts widely regard as the most expensive divorce settlement in modern history. PulseNets reported that Melinda ultimately received assets estimated at approximately $76 billion.
However, the divorce was followed by a series of revelations that further shaped public perception of the split. Months after the separation, details emerged of Gates’ alleged affair with a Microsoft employee.
PulseNets learnt that the woman had written directly to Microsoft’s board in 2019, alleging that the relationship began in 2000 and insisting that Melinda be made aware of the affair. The board reportedly launched an internal probe and later classified the relationship as inappropriate.
Before the investigation reached a formal conclusion, Gates abruptly resigned from Microsoft’s board in March 2020. PulseNets was told that the resignation occurred while the inquiry was still ongoing.
Further disclosures indicated a broader pattern of behaviour. It was reported that Gates had repeatedly made advances toward female staff members at both Microsoft and the philanthropic foundation he co-led with his former wife.
In another controversial development, PulseNets learnt that Gates had sought marital advice from Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. The two were said to have developed a close association after first meeting in 2011.
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The relationship between Gates and Epstein became public in 2019, several months after Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.
According to information obtained by PulseNets, the two men met on multiple occasions, travelled together on Epstein’s private jet—infamously known as the “Lolita Express”—and attended late-night gatherings at Epstein’s New York residence.
