What’s More About Microsoft’s Board Resignation? Bill Gates has been accused of having a long-term illicit relationship with a woman

On March 13, 2020, three months after his re-election, Bill Gates announced he was stepping down from the board of Microsoft, saying in a regulatory filing that he wanted to devote more time to his philanthropic work. The same day, Bill Gates also resigned from the board of Berkshire Hathaway.

That’s not the case, right?

Bill Gates did not resign from Microsoft’s board of directors, but was asked to do so at the time of an investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a female employee, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday.

In 2019, a Microsoft engineer submitted a letter to the company claiming he had a sexual relationship with Gates that began in 2000 and lasted for several years. In the letter, the engineer asked Microsoft to change her role within the company and shared details of her relationship with Mr. Gates.

The board hired a law firm in 2019 to investigate the allegations, and some members decided that Gates was unfit to continue as a director while the investigation lasted.

But before the board could complete its investigation and make a decision, Gates stepped down from the board.

Gates spokesman: The resignation had nothing to do with it

“Nearly 20 years ago [Gates] had an affair that ended amicably.”

“Bill’s decision to leave the board has nothing to do with this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his charity several years ago.”

A spokeswoman for Gates said.

The revelation comes more than two weeks after Bill and Melinda announced they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage on March 3. At the time of the divorce, neither Gates nor his wife spoke about the reasons for the split and said they planned to remain co-chairs of the foundation and co-lead it after the divorce.

But Melinda has reportedly been working with lawyers from several companies to break up the marriage since at least 2019. By 2020, the Gateses had begun discussing how to divide their vast wealth, and their legal teams were privately working with mediators to resolve the separation.