Bill and Melinda Gates have officially filed for divorce.

“This marriage is irretrievably broken,” Melinda Gates wrote in her petition for divorce on Monday, with Bill Gates listed as the respondent. “We ask the court to dissolve our marriage and find that our marital community ended on the date stated in our separation contract.”

Court papers obtained by TMZ show that Mr Gates has hired three law firms, including Munger, Tolles & Olson. Charles Munger, seen by some as Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, founded the firm in 1962, but is not listed as one of Mr Gates’ lawyers. He is 97 years old.

Mr Gates and Mr Munger previously worked together at Mr Warren’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, until Mr Gates stepped down from the board in 2020. He and Mr Warren are close friends and colleagues.

The divorce papers also show that there was no prenuptial agreement before the marriage. Mr Gates is currently the fourth richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $124 billion. Without a pre-nup, the divorce could potentially divide that fortune in half.

The couple announced their separation on Monday, after nearly three decades together.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” Bill and Melinda Gates wrote in a statement they both posted on Twitter.

The couple has been married for almost three decades, and works together to run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private charity in the world.

“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,” the Gates’ statement continued.

“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.”

However, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said nothing will change in terms of the two professionals’ work.

“Bill and Melinda will remain co-chairs and trustees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” the Foundation told The Independent on Monday. “No changes to their roles or the organization are planned. They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall direction.”

Bill and Melinda met in the 1980s at microsoft“>Microsoft, the tech giant Mr Gates co-founded, when Melinda worked there as a product manager. According to Melinda, Bill weighed the pros and cons of marrying her on a whiteboard. They married in Hawaii in 1994.

In 2000, they founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the goal of reducing poverty and improving health care around the world. The couple shares control of the enormous charity with one other trustee, Mr Buffett.

In March 2020, Mr Gates stepped down from his board position at Microsoft to devote more time to the charity. When the Covid-19 pandemic began, the Foundation dove into fighting the virus, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to develop vaccines and therapeutic drugs.

In a 2019 Netflix documentary, Inside Bill’s Brain, Mr Gates was highly complimentary of his wife.

“In the case of Melinda, it is a truly equal partner,” he said. “She’s a lot like me in that she is optimistic and she is interested in science. She is better with people than I am. She’s a tiny bit less hardcore about knowing, you know, immunology, than I am.”

Follow Our WhatsApp Channel _______________________________________________________________________

“Order Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s Electronic Evidence Books Now” — Essential Guides On Evidence Act, Case Law And Digital Proof

Two leading books on electronic evidence by Hon. Justice Professor Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, Rtd., PhD, FICMC, are now available for purchase. The publications, Electronic Evidence (Second Edition), With The Evidence Act, 2011 and Compendium Of Cases On Electronic Evidence, Volume II, 2020–2025, provide practical guidance, legal analysis and recent judicial authorities on electronic evidence in Nigeria.Order directly from the author here: https://velvety-cendol-7387ed.netlify.app/ _______________________________________________________________________

[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials

“Evidence Act: Complete Annotation” by renowned legal experts Sanni & Etti.

Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation

______________________________________________________________________ “Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence

Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via: 0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888 Website: www.alexandernigeria.com

______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes ‘Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers’ With Free Research eBook The book also examines Nigeria's legal ecosystem, focusing on the LPELR and NBA AI Guidelines. As a bonus, every purchase comes with a FREE eBook titled: How to Use the AI Features in LegalPedia and LawPavilion. Ohio Books Ltd praises the publication, stating: "....this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic." How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626 Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria. ______________________________________________________________________