Microsoft Board Investigated Bill Gates' 'Intimate Relationship' With Employee
Microsoft’s board of directors hired a private law firm to investigate a decades-old “intimate relationship” with a company employee of Bill Gates. The investigation, a company spokesman confirmed on Sunday, took place in the months before the billionaire resigned from the board last year.
A spokesperson for the company told NPR, “In late 2019, Microsoft received a concern that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000.”
“A board committee reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a full investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who expressed concern.”
An article in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that Microsoft’s board decided that Gates should step down, while reviewing his earlier romantic relationship with a Microsoft engineer deemed “inappropriate”.
A Gates spokesman, however, denied any connection between his departure and the board’s investigation.
A spokesman for Gates wrote in a statement shared with NPR, “There was an affair that ended amicably about 20 years ago. The bill’s decision to withdraw from the board had nothing to do with the case.” “ “In fact, he expressed interest in spending more time on his philanthropy that began several years ago.”
Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder and one of the world’s wealthiest, estimated to be worth around $ 130 billion, has attracted new scrutiny in recent weeks following the announcement of his divorce from Melinda Gates this month, which That expires 27-. Year marriage. Melinda Gates wrote in a court filing, “The marriage” was irreversibly broken.
Another report on Sunday in The New York Times described how Bill Gates allegedly “chased” several women linked to Microsoft and its foundation, developing “a reputation for questionable conduct in work-related settings” Hui.
But, according to The Times, it was Gates’ friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – whom Gates reportedly remained close to when Epstein was convicted for having sex with girls at the age of 14 – The process that allegedly set the divorce in motion, which upset Melinda Gates.
That sequence of events is disputed by a spokesman for Bill Gates.
A Gates spokesperson told NPR, “It is disheartening that a lot of untruths have been published about the reasons, circumstances and deadlines of Bill Gates’ divorce.”
A Gates spokesperson said, “Rumors and speculation about Gates’ divorce are becoming increasingly absurd and it is unfortunate that those who have little or no idea of the situation portray him as the ‘source’” He is going.”
The 65-year-old Gates, who had warned of the dangers of the deadly infectious virus years before the coronovirus epidemic, said in March 2020 that he was moving away from the Microsoft board and leaving his board seat at Berkshire Hathaway for more time for philanthropic reasons Giving, including global. Health and Climate Change Initiative.
Gates’s resignation comes three months after he was re-elected to his seat by the Microsoft board.
Editor’s note: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of NPR’s financial backers.
Microsoft board investigates Bill Gates’ romantic relationship
(Seattle, WA) – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ behavior in the office is under new scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2019 the company’s board investigated a claim that Gates had an inappropriate romantic relationship with a female employee decades ago. The Journal said that in light of the accusation, some board members thought Gates should step down. A Gates spokesperson admitted that there was a love affair about 20 years ago and it ended amicably. Gates resigned from the board in 2020, but his representative claims that it has nothing to do with the case. Gates and his wife Melinda recently announced that they were ending their marriage after 27 years.