Bill Gates pays ex-wife nearly $8 billion in divorce settlement

Tax filings revealed a payout of almost $8,000,000,000

After filing for divorce in 2021, the former couple finalised a settlement that included an extraordinary transfer of wealth. In 2024, the Microsoft co-founder contributed $7.88 billion to his ex-wife’s organisation, the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, according to financial documents examined by The New York Times.

Gates is taking the record for one of the most expensive divorces to date.

In total, Melinda Gates has received a staggering $76 billion payout from the divorce.

A significant share of those funds has gone toward Melinda’s charity work, with her former husband’s nearly $8 billion contribution representing just one part of a broader settlement designed to support initiatives that improve opportunities for women and provide aid to families in need.

A further $4 billion is thought to have flowed to similar causes in the years since, bringing the total pledged under the settlement to $12.5 billion. A spokesperson for Pivotal Philanthropies said Bill’s "agreement has been fulfilled."

In the same year that Bill made the $8bn payment to his Melinda's charity, she announced that she was also stepping back from the charity founded by herself and Bill, formerly known as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Melinda said in a statement in 2024: "This is not a decision I came to lightly.

"I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together, and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world."

She went on to highlight the impact that Bill's donation would have on the lives of women and girls worldwide: "This is a critical moment for women and girls in the U.S., and around the world-and those fighting to protect and advance equality are in urgent need of support."

Melinda described the end of their 30-year marriage as 'painful' but necessary, as their relationship just 'wasn't healthy' and they 'couldn't trust' that the relationship was working.

Bill, meanwhile, has spoken openly about his deep regret over the breakdown of the marriage, as well as his disappointment over his ex-wife’s decision to step away from the charitable foundation they built together, which had grown into the largest of its kind in the world aside from the Catholic Church.

"When we got divorced, it was tough, and then she decided to leave the foundation.

"I was disappointed that she took the option to go off," he told the Times.