Bill Gates and his estranged wife Melinda have hired some divorce lawyers with experience in costly splits.
Each has added high-powered attorneys who worked on opposite ends of the divorce of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has scooped up Ted Billbe from Scott’s team and Melinda Gates has hired Sherri Anderson who had previously worked on Bezos’ team, according to CNN.
Bezos and Scott announced their split in 2019. After the expensive divorce, Scott ended up the third-richest woman in the world.
Bill Gates, 65, and Melinda, 56, filed for divorce May 3, after 27 years of marriage. Untold piles of cash are at stake with the Gates estimates to have $130 billion in assets and no prenuptial agreement.
But they do reportedly have a “separation agreement,” which outlines terms of a split and is usually signed at the end of a marriage. Melinda Gates is not seeking spousal support in the divorce.
Bill Gates recently transferred $850 million more in stock to Melinda, which is reportedly part of $3 billion worth of transfers to his soon-to-be ex-wife. The transferred shares came after Gates admitted to having had an affair with a Microsoft employee.
Melinda has hired trust and real estate attorneys to her team, a move that some divorce attorneys told Page Six could mean she was looking to change her children’s inheritances.
The couple have three adult children together, but Gates has said he planned to leave them a meager $10 million apiece in inheritance. It’s not clear if inheritance is included in the couple’s separation agreement.
Among Melinda Gates’ team is Robert Cohen, whose clients have included Mike Bloomberg and Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of former President Donald Trump.
