Bill Gates Divorce, Foreign Media Call It "Second Bombshell After Bezos"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Major foreign media outlets described the divorce news of Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates as "the second bombshell announcement following the split between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie."

On the 3rd (local time), major foreign media gave significant coverage to Bill Gates' divorce news. In particular, they linked it to the 2019 divorce news of Bezos, who was the world's richest person at the time, focusing on the prospects of asset division.

CNBC said, "There has been a change in the personal life of America's top businessman," adding, "It has been just two years since Bezos announced his divorce." Bloomberg News stated, "In recent years, divorce news among the world's top billionaires has continued," and described "(the Gates couple's split) as the second bombshell announcement after Bezos' divorce."

Although Bill Gates has announced that he will donate more than half of his wealth, the division of the remaining assets is also a matter of interest given that he is the world's fourth richest person. According to Forbes, which published data this year, Bill Gates' assets amount to approximately $130 billion (about 146 trillion KRW), ranking fourth after Bezos, Bernard Arnault, chairman of the Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH) group, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.

The New York Times (NYT) mentioned the charitable organization founded by the Gates couple, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and evaluated that "the couple's divorce will have a significant impact on social contribution, public health, and industry sectors." It also noted, "The fate of the couple's assets is a new issue."

Bloomberg News explained, "Gates' assets will be much more complex to verify than Bezos' assets," adding, "Most of Bezos' wealth consists of Amazon shares."