Bill Gates hands ex-wife Melinda $8 BILLION five years after their divorce over his cheating and ties to Jeffrey Epstein
The gigantic donation was made as Melinda continues to distance herself from her ex-husband.
By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Published: 15:11 GMT, 9 January 2026 | Updated: 19:32 GMT, 9 January 2026
Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates has given his ex-wife Melinda $8billion five years after they divorced over his rumoured affairs and closeness to Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates made the $7.88billion donation to Melinda's Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2024, The New York Times revealed.
Melinda resigned from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that they ran together in May 2024 and suggested her ex donate $12.5billion to her new foundation which works to advance social progress for women.
A representative for women's advocacy group Pivotal confirmed to the Times that the $12.5billion agreement has been fulfilled, and the nearly $8billion donation was part of that agreement.
The donation was listed on his 2025 tax filing, but it is unclear how the rest of the $12.5billion agreement was split and where the donations were made.
Melinda married Gates in 1994 and split with him in 2021 after the couple had three children together.
Very few details of their divorce have been made public, and the tax filing reveals the first specific financial contribution of their split.
Melinda has previously admitted that her ex-husband's friendship with disgraced pedophile financier Epstein was a driving factor for their split.
Bill and Melinda Gates pictured together in Sun Valley, Utah, in 2015. The couple split six years later with Bill recently donating another $8billion to his wife's foundation
Melinda has condemned Gates over his affairs and close friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein
Gates has refused to say whether he was unfaithful to Melinda, but previously admitted he 'certainly made mistakes' in their marriage and claimed to 'take responsibility'.