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has hired the firm set up by 97-year-old billionaire lawyer friend Charlie T Munger to represent him in his divorce from his wife Melinda.
The Microsoft founder and his wife announced on Monday that they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage.
In papers filed in Washington state, Melinda, 56, described their relationship as 'irretrievably broken' and the couple's eldest daughter, 25-year-old Jennifer Gates, has spoken publicly on social media about the 'challenging stretch' the family recently endured. Neither of their two other adult children have commented.
No other details of why the pair are splitting have been given but the court papers reveal the pair did not have a prenuptial agreement in place when they married in 1994 - putting their $130billion fortune at the center of the split.
In her petition for divorce, Melinda says spousal support is 'not needed' - meaning she won't seek regular payments from Bill but take a settlement which is likely to be privately negotiated, if it hasn't already been decided upon.
Lawyers are shocked there was no prenup, given Bill had already made his first billion dollars at the age of 31 in 1987 - the same year he met Melinda. Now, their myriad assets are up for grabs.
Munger, 97, is not a family lawyer nor is he personally representing Gates but he is well known in the world of business.
His expertise is in business, philanthropy and real estate. He and Bill are friends from their time at Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's holding company which Bill served on the board of for 16 years and where Munger remains Vice Chairman. Munger divorced once himself, in the 1950s, and lost all of his money in the process.
He remarried and rebuilt his wealth.
Both Gates and Buffett have heaped high praise on him. Gates previously described him as the 'broadest thinker he has ever met'. Buffett said of him in the same : 'He comes equipped for rationality.
'I would say that to try and typecast Charlie in terms of any other human that I can think of, no one would fit.
He's got his own mold.'
Charlie Munger, left, Bill Gates, center, and Warren Buffett.
Munger, a 97-year-old WWII vet and billionaire, set up the firm that is representing Gates in his divorce. The pair both worked at Berkshire Hathaway - Buffett's holding company. Munger is still the Vice Chairman. Bill left the company's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy
Bill and Melinda announced on Monday that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage
Melinda filed a petition for divorce from Bill on Monday in the Superior https://healthtopical.com/stretch-marks-early-pregnancy/ Court of Washington - King County.
In the petition (pictured) she described their marriage as 'irretrievably broken'
The 65-year-old Microsoft founder and his 56-year-old wife shared the news with identical statements on Twitter (pictured)
The couple are pictured with their three kids in a 2019 family photo.
The kids - Jennifer (center), Rory (right) and Phoebe (left) are now aged 25, 21 and 18
The pair are pictured during a Zoom appearance on April 19 at One World: Together At Home, a broadcast special to support healthcare workers
The couple met in 1987 - the same year Bill became the world's youngest billionaire at the age of 31 - married in Hawaii in 1994, and have three children together: Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe 18.
They also established the world's largest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2000 which has contributed more than $50billion to causes including eradicating polio and malaria.
The foundation has also been a major investor in coronavirus treatments.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-da4c9520-aca7-11eb-94a3-71e8bf364378" website Gates hires law firm set up by Warren Buffett's right-hand man
