[Bill Gates Divorce] Bill Gates Thoroughly Lists and Analyzes 'Pros and Cons When Getting Married'

Meeting at MS Employee Dinner
Marriage After Struggling with Management Burden
"Seemed Unsure About Lifelong Commitment"
Social Contribution Throughout Married Life

Melinda Gates (left) and Bill Gates
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] "Before Bill married me, he listed the pros and cons of marriage on a whiteboard and pondered over it."

In the 2019 Netflix documentary 'Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates,' which highlights Bill Gates' life, Melinda Gates recalled that Bill Gates seriously contemplated marriage before marrying her. Melinda explained, "Since Gates was leading Microsoft (MS) during its rapid growth, he was uncertain whether he could dedicate his entire life to married life."

Bill and Melinda Gates, one of the world's richest couples and operators of the world's largest philanthropic foundation worth $50 billion (about 56 trillion KRW), had an extraordinary approach even to getting married.

The place where the couple first met was at MS. Melinda was an employee at the company when Bill was serving as the CEO of MS. Melinda was the only female employee with an MBA at the company and was later promoted to manager in charge of Information Products due to her recognized work performance.

Their first meeting took place shortly after Melinda joined MS in 1987 during a dinner with colleagues. Melinda recalls the meeting with Bill as a "coincidence." According to Melinda's autobiography, she arrived late to the dinner and sat in an empty seat, and Bill, who arrived last, naturally sat next to her.

This meeting soon led to dating for about a year. After one year of dating, Bill confessed first. This marked the beginning of the Gates couple's serious relationship. They got married in Hawaii in 1994. At that time, Bill was 38 years old, and Melinda was 29.

The Gates couple's married life mostly centered around social contribution activities. Inspired by their trip to Africa, the couple decided to dedicate their lives to social contribution. In a 2016 interview, Melinda said, "What we saw and experienced in Africa was devotion and love for people," adding, "We inevitably asked ourselves many questions." She further stated, "At the end of our Africa trip, we decided to return most of MS's assets to society."

Additionally, the Gates couple, along with Warren Buffett, launched 'The Giving Pledge' in 2010, a donation campaign where the world's billionaires pledge to give away more than half of their wealth.

The Gates couple began their full-fledged social contribution activities after Bill stepped down as CEO of MS, relieving him of the burden of managing the company. The year 2000, when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was established, was also the year Bill stepped down as CEO. Last year, the foundation donated a total of $1.7 billion (about 2 trillion KRW) for COVID-19 vaccine development.

Besides social contribution activities, the couple also pursued their individual interests. Bill Gates, who is interested in climate change, founded a climate change response foundation called 'Breakthrough Energy,' while Melinda, who values social equality, established 'Pivotal Ventures,' an investment company supporting organizations related to social equality.