Bill and Melinda Gates in February 2019. Photo / CBS via Getty Images
Bill and Melinda Gates in February 2019. Photo / CBS via Getty Images
Amid the mounting tension in their marriage that this month led to their split, Bill and Melinda Gates lived in separate wings of their lavish mansion for the past five years, an ex-employee has claimed.
Sitting just a short drive over the bridge from Seattle and boasting spectacular views across Lake Washington, their home has been estimated to be worth over $138 million (US$100m) and is considered to be the Microsoft co-founder's main home.
The mansion, known as "Xanadu 2.0", was originally bought in 1988 for US$2m.
It took seven years to build, can accommodate up to 200 people and includes six kitchens, a trampoline room and a 60-foot swimming pool.
However, it has become clear that behind the walls of the opulent mansion, things were falling apart for one of the world's richest couples.
After announcing their split two weeks ago, the revelations about Bill Gates' alleged behaviour towards other women over many years have come out of the woodwork.
In the past week alone, claims have emerged that the 65-year-old founder of Microsoft, said to be worth US$130 billion, had allegedly awkward encounters with female employees, weekend retreats with ex-girlfriends and a little-known connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokeswoman for Gates has strongly denied any wrongdoing on his behalf.
Before the couple went public with their announcement to go their separate ways after 27 years of marriage, saying neither believed they could "grow" in the relationship, it was clear to some of those working with them that something wasn't right.
A former senior staff member at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which holds close to US$50 billion in assets and funds work in at least 135 countries, said they were not surprised by the announcement.
"There were rumours in Seattle, going back four of five years, that they were each living in different wings of the mansion," the former employee, who asked not to be named, told The Independent.
The ex-employee added that Bill Gates had a reputation for being very socially awkward, that he found it difficult to make conversation with his staff, and that he appeared to show little interest in them.
The Gateses at a party in Seattle in January 1994 - one week after they married in Hawaii. Photo / Getty Images
"Before I briefed him for the first time, I was told not to shake hands and not to give him my name, because he was not interested in that," he said. "You were just supposed to give him the information you had for him, and then get out."
Inheritance push gets messy
The revelations come amid reports Melinda Gates may be vying to change her three children's inheritance in her divorce from her husband after he repeatedly said he plans to give away his fortune.
Bill Gates has said on several occasions that he plans to leave his children just US$10m when he dies.
Melinda had previously appeared to be on board with the plans to give their three kids – Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 18 – a "minuscule portion" of their vast estate, though her stance appears to have shifted.
The US Sun reports she took the unconventional step of naming top trust and estate lawyers as her representatives in her divorce filing.
Gates allegedly asked Epstein for advice
Last week, it was reported in The Wall Street Journal that Melinda Gates had concerns about her husband's interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Now a report has claimed he asked the disgraced financier for advice on how to end his "toxic" marriage amid reports that he allegedly had an affair with a female staffer.
A person who was at the meetings told the Daily Beast: "Going to Jeffrey's was a respite from his marriage. It was a way of getting away from Melinda."
Bill Gates' team assured the board the Microsoft founder had met Epstein for "philanthropic reasons" and "regretted doing so", the Journal said.
A representative for the Microsoft co-founder disputes the claims, adding that Gates never received any advice from Epstein on his marriage.
They said that Gates never complained about his marriage when speaking with the disgraced financier.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation holds close to US$50b in assets and funds work in at least 135 countries. Photo / Getty Images
The New York Times reported that Melinda Gates expressed dismay over her husband's meetings with Epstein, but that Gates continued the relationship.
It reported she was also upset over a private settlement of a sexual harassment claim against her husband's financial manager, and about Gates's advancements toward other Microsoft employees.
Affair claims surface
This week it has also been reported that Gates resigned from the Microsoft board after he allegedly had an affair with a female staffer.
Board members are said to have carried out an investigation into the billionaire's romantic relationship with a Microsoft engineer in late 2019 after she claimed in a letter she had had a sexual relationship with Gates for a number of years.
The relationship was deemed by the board to be "inappropriate", people familiar with events told The Wall Street Journal.
"There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably," a spokeswoman for Gates told the Journal, adding that his departure from the board was not related to the relationship.
It has also been claimed Gates "pursued" several women in his office after he wed Melinda in 1994, according to a New York Times report.
The newspaper details two alleged instances where Gates clumsily asked out women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In one instance, Gates is said to have asked out a female Microsoft employee in 2006 following a presentation, two people familiar with the exchange told the Times.
Years later, another woman who worked for the Gates' foundation told the Times that he had allegedly asked her out during a work trip to New York.
Some of the employees who spoke to the Times said they didn't see Gates' behaviour as predatory, adding he did not pressure the women into submitting to his advances.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Gates, said he had never mistreated any employees.
