Bill Gates opens up about his divorce, acknowledges year of 'great personal sadness'
Microsoft founder says 2021 was most 'difficult year' of his life
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has opened up about his recent divorce from ex-wife Melinda in his latest blog post, calling 2021 a year of "great personal sadness" for him.
Melinda Gates and Bill Gates attend The Robin Hood Foundation's 2018 benefit at Jacob Javitz Center on 2018 in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Robin Hood / Getty Images)
"Even though I think the things I’ve been working on are by far the most interesting part of my year, I know a lot of people are curious about a subject closer to home: my divorce," Gates wrote in his latest GatesNotes.
"Melinda and I continue to run our foundation together and have found a good new working rhythm, but I can’t deny that it’s been a year of great personal sadness for me," he continued. "Adapting to change is never easy, no matter what it is. I’ve been impressed by how resilient my loved ones—especially my kids—have been in this challenging time."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 415.49 | -2.30 | -0.55% |
Gates gave brief updates on his three kids, too, noting that his youngest went off to college this year, making him "officially an empty nester."
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Jennifer Gates attend Global Champions Tour of Monaco 2017 on June 23, 2017, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. (fotopress/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Bill and Melinda Gates announced their split in May and were divorced in early August after 27 years of marriage.
In his reflections on the past year, Gates also wrote that "like many people, there were entire days this year when the only human interaction I had was through a screen" due to COVID-19, and that "the result has been the most unusual and difficult year of my life."
"It’s been a strange and disorienting experience," he went to write, adding, "My personal world has never felt smaller than it did over the last twelve months."
Bill Gates (Qin Lang/Xinhua via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Still, Gates offered several reasons for why he is optimistic about 2022, writing, "The good news is that the world no longer needs to be persuaded that stopping a pandemic is important. I’m hopeful that we’ll see broad support for pandemic preparedness efforts, and I plan on spending a lot of time advocating for them."
He emphasized, "This is the biggest and most important thing I’m going to work on in 2022," before pointing to other potential medical advances for preventing HIV and diagnosing Alzheimer’s, in addition to the climate initiatives he supports.