Lengthy Earlier than Divorce, Invoice Gates Had Fame for Questionable Conduct

When Melinda French Gates decided to end her 27-year marriage, her husband was known worldwide as a software pioneer, billionaire, and leading philanthropist.

However, in some circles, Bill Gates had also developed a reputation for questionable behavior in work-related settings. That attracts new attention when one of the richest and most powerful couples in the world falls apart.

In 2018, Ms. French Gates was not happy with her husband’s handling of a previously undisclosed sexual harassment lawsuit against his longtime money manager, according to two people familiar with the matter. After Mr. Gates kept the matter confidential, Ms. French Gates insisted on an outside investigation. The money manager Michael Larson stays in his job.

At least a few times, Mr. Gates persecuted women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to people with direct knowledge of his overtures. At meetings at the foundation, he was at times dismissive of his wife, witnesses said.

Then there was Jeffrey Epstein, whom Mr. Gates met in 2011, three years after Mr. Epstein, on charges of trafficking in girls, pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Ms. French Gates had expressed discomfort about her husband spending time with the sex offender, but Mr. Gates continued to do so, according to people who attended or were informed about meetings with the two men.

When the relationship between Mr. Gates and Mr. Epstein became public in October 2019, Ms. French Gates was unhappy. She hired divorce lawyers and started a process that culminated this month with the announcement that their marriage would end.

It’s not clear how much Ms. French Gates knew about her husband’s behavior or how much it contributed to their breakup.

The announcement of her divorce has drawn attention to a marriage the dissolution of which has great social and financial implications. Several people alleged that Mr. Gates engaged in work-related conduct during his marriage that was inappropriate for a person to head a large publicly traded company and one of the most influential philanthropies in the world.

Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, denied the characterization of his behavior and the couple’s divorce.

“It is extremely disappointing that so many untruths have been published about the cause, circumstances and timing of Bill Gates’ divorce,” said Ms. Arnold.

“Your characterization of his meetings with Epstein and others about philanthropy is inaccurate, including the participants,” she continued. “Likewise, any claim that Gates spoke derogently about his marriage or about Melinda is false. The allegation of mistreatment of employees is also false. The rumors and speculations surrounding Gates’ divorce are growing absurd, and it is unfortunate that people who know little to nothing about the situation are called “sources.” “

Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates met at work. He was technically her boss. He ran Microsoft and she started working there as a product manager in 1987, a year after she graduated from college.

During their relationship, the two played on the cute aspects of their office romance. He flirted with her when they were at a conference and then asked her when they met in a company parking lot, according to Ms. French Gates, who described the beginnings of their relationship during a public appearance in 2016.

Long after they married in 1994, Mr. Gates occasionally stalked women in the office.

In 2006, for example, he took part in a presentation by a Microsoft employee. Mr. Gates, who was chairman of the company at the time, left the meeting and immediately emailed the woman inviting her to dinner, according to two people familiar with the exchange.

“If this makes you feel uncomfortable, pretend it never happened,” Gates wrote in an email from a person who read it to the New York Times.

The woman was indeed uncomfortable, the two said. She decided to pretend it never happened.

A year or two later, Mr. Gates was on a trip to New York on behalf of the Gates Foundation. He was traveling with a woman who worked for the foundation. Mr. Gates was at a cocktail party with her, lowered his voice and said, “I want to see you. Will you have dinner with me “after the woman.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she did not want the public attention associated with describing undesirable progress, said she was uncomfortable but laughed so as not to answer.

Six current and former employees of Microsoft, the foundation, and the company that manages the Gates’ assets said these and other incidents created at times an uncomfortable working environment. Mr. Gates was known for being clumsy with women in and out of the office. His behavior led to widespread chatter among staff about his personal life.

Some of the employees said that while they disapproved of Mr. Gates’ behavior, they did not find it predatory. They said he didn’t pressurize women to submit to his advancement for their careers, and he seemed to feel like he was giving women the space to reject his advancement.

Even so, Mr. Gates’ actions contradicted the agenda of women empowerment that Ms. French Gates promoted on a global stage. For example, on October 2, 2019, she said she would spend $ 1 billion promoting the power and influence of women in the United States.

“Although most women are now working full time (or more), we still do the majority of the care duties. We face pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination. We are surrounded by biased and stereotyped depictions that uphold harmful gender norms, ”she wrote in a column in Time Magazine announcing the promise.

When it was set up, Mr. Gates made sure his voice was dominant and Ms. French Gates could be dismissive, which according to staff attending Foundation meetings with the Gates, caused some Foundation employees to wince.

In 2017, the couple were charged with sexual harassment against a close associate.

For nearly 30 years, Mr. Larson served as Mr. Gates’ money manager, generating solid returns on Gateses and the Foundation’s total portfolio of $ 174 billion through a covert operation called Cascade Investment. Cascade owned assets like stocks, bonds, hotels, and vast expanses of farmland, and put the Gateses’ money into other investment vehicles as well. One of them was a venture capital firm called Rally Capital, which is located in the same building that Cascade lives in in Kirkland, Washington.

Rally Capital was involved in a nearby bike shop. In 2017, the woman who ran the bike shop hired a lawyer who wrote a letter to Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates.

The letter said that Mr. Larson had sexually molested the manager of the bicycle shop, according to three people who were familiar with the allegation. The letter said that the woman had tried unsuccessfully to handle the situation herself, and she asked the Gates for help. If they didn’t resolve the situation, she could take legal action.

The woman reached an agreement in 2018 in which she signed a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for payment, the three people said.

While Mr. Gates thought this brought the matter to an end, Ms. French Gates was not satisfied with the result, two of the people said. She asked a law firm to conduct an independent review of the Cascade woman’s allegations and culture. Mr Larson was given a leave of absence while the investigation was ongoing, but he was eventually reinstated. (It is unclear whether the investigation exonerated Mr. Larson.) He remains responsible for Cascade.

A spokesman for Mr. Larson had no comment.

About a year after the settlement – and less than two weeks after Ms. French Gates ‘column in Time – the Times published an article about Mr. Gates’ relationship with Mr. Epstein. The article reported that the two men had spent time together on multiple occasions, had flown on Mr. Epstein’s private jet, and attended a nightly meeting at his Manhattan townhouse. “His lifestyle is very diverse and fascinating, although it wouldn’t work for me,” Gates emailed his colleagues in 2011 after meeting Mr. Epstein for the first time.

(Mrs. Arnold, the spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, said at the time that he regretted the relationship with Mr. Epstein. She said that Mr. Gates did not know that the plane belonged to Mr. Epstein and that Mr. Gates was referring to that unique decor of Mr. Epstein’s house.)

The Times article contained details about Mr. Gates’ interactions with Mr. Epstein that Ms. French Gates had not known before, according to people familiar with the matter. Soon after its release, she began consulting with divorce lawyers and other counselors who would help the couple split their wealth, one respondent said. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the timing of their attorneys’ appointments.

The Times revelations were particularly angry with Ms. French Gates for previously expressing her discomfort at her husband, who was linked to Mr. Epstein, who died of suicide in federal custody in 2019 shortly after being charged with sex trafficking in girls was. Ms. French Gates expressed discomfort in the fall of 2013 after she and Mr. Gates had dinner with Mr. Epstein at his townhouse. (The incident was previously reported by The Daily Beast.)

For years, Mr. Gates went on to dinners and meetings at Mr. Epstein’s, where Mr. Epstein usually surrounded himself with young and attractive women, said two people who were there and two others who were told about the meetings.

Ms. Arnold said Mr. Gates never socialized or attended parties with Mr. Epstein, and she denied that young and attractive women attended their meetings. “Bill only met with Epstein to discuss philanthropy,” Ms. Arnold said.

On at least one occasion, in the presence of Mr. Epstein, Mr. Gates noted that he was unhappy in his marriage, according to the people who heard the comments.

Mr. Epstein provided Mr. Gates’ tax and fundraising services, although there is no evidence that Mr. Gates did any business with him, according to those familiar with Mr. Epstein’s pitch and finances.

Sometime after 2013, Mr. Epstein brought Mr. Gates to a meeting with Leon Black, the head of Apollo Investments, who according to two people familiar with the meeting had a diverse business and personal relationship with Mr. Epstein. The meeting took place in Apollo’s New York offices.

It is unclear whether Ms. French Gates was aware of recent meetings with Mr. Epstein. One person who spoke to her recently said, “She decided that it would be best for her to leave her marriage when she moves on to the next stage in her life.”

Steve Eder and Jodi Kantor contributed to the coverage.

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