In February 2023, Bill Gates, then 67, confirmed that he was dating widow Paula Heard (she was 60). Before that, in 2021, he divorced Melinda French. But his personal life has always been very curious.
When the richest bachelor on the planet, Bill Gates, turned 39, few believed he would ever get married. Reporters stopped asking, “When?!” Bill would still repeat his student answer, “Why? I have someone to go to discos with.”
The wits were tired of joking: “Bill? Gay! Shhh…” They bit their tongues when reading about incomes that had exceeded a hundred billion dollars. It seemed that Gates, who only beamed with joy at work, had refuted the famous aphorism “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” Maybe it does, when it grows to such astronomical sums. Who else had seen them? When interviewing potential employees, Gates was interested in everything except the applicant’s marital status. He identified like-minded people by a rational tracing:
“his people” should not believe in mythical luck; to achieve the goal, you only need yourself, your strength and ambition.
The only thing he could be jealous of was work. That’s where the real rivals were!
But fate likes to compete with “sheep”. In 1984, at a computer conference, Gates met his “colleague in mind” Ann Winblad. At first, they had a virtual-phone romance. Living in different cities, they were inseparable, even when watching movies: they went to movie screenings separately, but immediately called each other and discussed what they had seen. Ann convinced Bill to become a vegetarian (after their breakup, he returned to meat again).
Bill introduced his girlfriend to his parents – a good sign! The family, having learned about Ann’s passion for biochemistry, cheered up: an unusual hobby for a woman should speak of her intelligence, and Bill appreciates intelligent conversationalists and, perhaps, will soon call the girl his bride. But the couple went on vacation to Brazil and… spent their leisure time reading a 1100-page textbook on molecular biology and genetics. On their next vacation, they enjoyed lectures on physics.
They talked like that for three years.
And Anne wanted to get married, she was five years older than Bill and could not ignore the ticking of her biological clock. Alas, 32-year-old Gates did not want to exchange his free life for a family. However, they remained friends and continued intellectual meetings even when the computer genius set his sights on Melinda French, the head of the sales department at Microsoft (a graduate of Duke University with two degrees – in economics and new technologies, a master’s degree in business administration and a house worth 350 thousand dollars).
A boss’s affair at work? It couldn’t happen because it could never happen . Gates issued an order forbidding the hiring of related employees and condemned office romances. On the other hand, where else can workaholics meet? They now joke that their meeting was predetermined by the architects who built the Microsoft buildings: Bill Gates’s windows looked right into Melinda’s office.
By agreement, she lit a lamp with a green shade when she wanted to see her admirer. They managed to keep their relationship a secret from colleagues and journalists for several years. Only Gates’ former passion, Anne Winblad, knew about it. Bill kept an eye on his new chosen one, constantly consulting with Anne. It was she who gave the go-ahead for the wedding when Gates asked her to help with the final decision. Melinda did not remain in debt and repaid kindness with kindness.
The discussion and drafting of the marriage contract lasted for a whole year, until finally the future wife was satisfied with the result: after the wedding, she became a fabulously rich woman and received 10 million dollars for each child born in the marriage.
She paid off her “debt” to Ann by signing a clause in the contract that stated that Bill Gates would spend one vacation each year with Ann Winblad. Everything ingenious is simple: the contract did not allow jealousy!
In 1993, Gates held a press conference and announced his wedding. A year later, the newlyweds got married on one of the Hawaiian islands. The computer god was wearing a white tuxedo, which he wore instead of his usual worn jeans and stretched sweater.
Gates bought all the plane tickets and hotel rooms so that no strangers could enter the newlyweds’ private celebration. Anne attended the wedding as an honored guest. Later, Gates made a grand gesture by allowing anyone who wanted to attend family dinners at the magnate’s home if they bought an invitation for $1 million.
Immediately after the wedding, Melinda was fired from Microsoft (Gates did not violate his ban on nepotism). Three years later, she gave birth to her first child, and then two more children (according to the will, the billionaire dad will leave each of them $10 million, “and let them earn the rest themselves”). They lived in a huge house of 3,700 square meters and were an example of a strong family.
Gates’ father was quite surprised by the changes that had taken place in his son: Bill, who was indifferent to his children, had turned into a loving father; he could postpone a work meeting to spend time with his offspring.
Competitors were even more surprised: they dreamed that Gates would quickly get married and soften his character, but Bill did not change his tough manner of doing business. The human computer clearly separates work and personal life.
The matrix wife automatically optimized the file named “Ann” written in the contract every year. Gates was vacationing with an old girlfriend in North Carolina – in a cottage on the Atlantic Ocean. All the books had already been read, so it was possible to simply walk along the beach, fly hang gliders and discuss biotechnology problems while playing golf.
Their communication is not limited to one vacation a year; the former lovers are periodically seen together in public places.
Lest this give the wrong impression, it’s worth adding that Bill and Melinda also had many common interests: they love extreme recreation, read the same books (they have to buy two copies), solve crosswords, and since Bill Gates officially left his post as head of Microsoft, they have devoted most of their time to the family charitable foundation.
On May 3, 2021, the couple announced their decision to divorce after more than 27 years of marriage. The Wall Street Journal reported that Melinda began meeting with divorce lawyers in 2019, citing interviews that said her concerns included Gates’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
However, the couple delayed their divorce until their youngest daughter, Phoebe, graduated from high school. The divorce was finalized on August 2, 2021, with financial details remaining private. But there are rumors of a $105 billion settlement.
American media wrote that the reasons for Bill Gates’ divorce were prostitutes, strippers and orgies.
In February 2023, Gates confirmed that he was dating Paula Hurd, the widow of former Oracle and Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd.
Ann Winblad was left with nothing again…
