Bill Gates quit the Microsoft board while company investigated affair with employee

[midian182]

In a nutshell: Recently divorced Bill Gates reportedly left the Microsoft board as the company investigated an affair he had with an employee almost twenty years earlier. A spokesperson for the billionaire has acknowledged the affair, claiming it was not related to his “decision to transition off the board.”

Gates left the Microsoft board last year after four decades to concentrate on his philanthropic priorities, but a Wall Street Journal report claims there was more to the story.

The Microsoft board reportedly hired a law firm in 2019 to investigate the affair after an employee alleged in a letter that she had a relationship with the former CEO over several years. The engineer is said to have asked Melinda French Gates, who was married to Bill Gates at the time, to read the letter, though it’s unclear whether she did.

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesman said. “A committee of the board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Gates’ spokesperson told the WSJ that “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.” They emphasized that it was in no way related to his decision to leave the board, and that “he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.” However, the WSJ writes that some board members “decided it was no longer suitable” for Gates to remain a director at the company. He resigned before the probe was complete.

Earlier this month, Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage. The WSJ reports that Melinda had been meeting with lawyers since 2019 as she planned for the divorce, and that previous revelations of Bill Gates spending time with Jeffery Epstein played a part in her decision.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/89699-bill-gates-quit-microsoft-board-company-investigated-affair.html

 

[Kirby1]

Daumn

 

[Dimitriid]

After what he pulled with the AstraZeneca vaccine and being one of the main forces that was actively opposing just releasing the vaccine to the general public for anyone to produce he sort of deserves everything that is coming to him with this, the divorce, the attempted rehabilitation of Epstein (Allegedly) etc.

And the sad part is that while he might be publicly denounced for all of 5 minutes he still can just rot in his money that yes, even after the divorce will be incomprehensible wealth.

 

[SirDigby]

Oooh there's a guilty pleasure in all the juicy gossip, hope this doesn't turn into a tabloid website though!

Bill you dirty dawg.

 

[Muggs]

Honestly who cares. It was 20 years ago and was consensual. Why is this even news.

 

[Adi6293]

So he had to step down because of something that happened 20 years ago??..............

 

[duckofdeath]

After what he pulled with the AstraZeneca vaccine and being one of the main forces that was actively opposing just releasing the vaccine to the general public for anyone to produce he sort of deserves everything that is coming to him with this, the divorce, the attempted rehabilitation of Epstein (Allegedly) etc.

And the sad part is that while he might be publicly denounced for all of 5 minutes he still can just rot in his money that yes, even after the divorce will be incomprehensible wealth.

There is still a big part of the world that doesn't allow the use of the type of covid vaccine Astra Zeneca makes on younger people. The risk vs. long term reward is questionable. Also, Astra Zeneca is a backstabbing greedy corporation that deliberation swindled Europe by selling drugs they knew they didn't have capacity for. The TSMC of Big Pharma. I have zero sympathy for them.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Anyone else find it suspicious that this only happened just after Queen Elizabeth became available?

Hmmmmm...

 

[p51d007]

Honestly who cares. It was 20 years ago and was consensual. Why is this even news.

Because he was married? But, from the sounds of it, he had a one way open marrige.
HE could fool around, but SHE couldn't.

 

[Muggs]

Because he was married? But, from the sounds of it, he had a one way open marrige.
HE could fool around, but SHE couldn't.

Again who cares. It's none of my business that the guy cheated 20 years ago and is now divorced. It has absolutely zero bearing on anything I do including the use of Microsoft products. It's nothing more than tabloids BS and not what I would hope to see on a techblog.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I've always said that to be a billionaire, a person has to be a psychopath because no sane person would spend all the time that he has trying to get richer and richer. Hell, I couldn't see myself going past $10 million without retiring and having said that, I'd probably retire with $5 million or less.

The one thing you cannot buy is TIME and once you have enough money to be able to do whatever you want with your life without worrying about paying for it, you should retire from the workforce. That maximises the amount of time you can enjoy life and it frees up the job that you no longer need for someone else who DOES need it.

That's why I ALWAYS knew that Bill Gates was NOT a good human being. Sure, he donated $285,000,000 to combat malaria but $285,000,000 to him is like $5 to us mere mortals. The fact that he has $128,000,000,000 and ONLY donated $285,000,000 is actually the definition of pathetic. It's literally 1/450th of his total wealth. That's like if someone had $5,000 in their savings account, they would be donating $11 over all the years that the Bill Gates "Foundation" has operated. I know people who have donated more to charity than that (and some have LESS than $5,000 in the bank) in less than a year but nobody calls them a "philanthropist". Hell, personally, if I were as good a philanthropist as Bell Gates, I'd have a lot more money in my account than I do. Anyone who is inspired by his "generosity" is a certified dumb-bum.

Bill Gates (and many others) could wave his hand and permanently end both homelessness and hunger in the world while still having more money left than he could ever spend. He doesn't do it though, does he? Instead, he worries about losing money because of a vaccine patent. What kind of person has $128.3 BILLION and still worries more about profits than people's lives? A greedy piece of $hit, that's what.

These so-called "philanthropists" are proof as to why Bernie was right when he said that "Billionaires should not exist." because even when they do good things with their wealth, it's always a pittance and far less than a professional government operation would achieve in the same amount of time.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Again who cares. It's none of my business that the guy cheated 20 years ago and is now divorced. It has absolutely zero bearing on anything I do including the use of Microsoft products. It's nothing more than tabloids BS and not what I would hope to see on a techblog.

A normal affair, yes... but if you’re in a position of power (and CEO of MS is just about the epitome of power), having an affair with an employee is inappropriate.

 

[Kirby1]

I've always said that to be a billionaire, a person has to be a psychopath because no sane person would spend all the time that he has trying to get richer and richer. Hell, I couldn't see myself going past $10 million without retiring and having said that, I'd probably retire with $5 million or less.

The one thing you cannot buy is TIME and once you have enough money to be able to do whatever you want with your life without worrying about paying for it, you should retire from the workforce. That maximises the amount of time you can enjoy life and it frees up the job that you no longer need for someone else who DOES need it.

That's why I ALWAYS knew that Bill Gates was NOT a good human being. Sure, he donated $285,000,000 to combat malaria but $285,000,000 to him is like $5 to us mere mortals. The fact that he has $128,000,000,000 and ONLY donated $285,000,000 is actually the definition of pathetic. It's literally 1/450th of his total wealth. That's like if someone had $5,000 in their savings account, they would be donating $11 over all the years that the Bill Gates "Foundation" has operated. I know people who have donated more to charity than that (and some have LESS than $5,000 in the bank) in less than a year but nobody calls them a "philanthropist". Hell, personally, if I were as good a philanthropist as Bell Gates, I'd have a lot more money in my account than I do. Anyone who is inspired by his "generosity" is a certified dumb-bum.

Bill Gates (and many others) could wave his hand and permanently end both homelessness and hunger in the world while still having more money left than he could ever spend. He doesn't do it though, does he? Instead, he worries about losing money because of a vaccine patent. What kind of person has $128.3 BILLION and still worries more about profits than people's lives? A greedy piece of $hit, that's what.

These so-called "philanthropists" are proof as to why Bernie was right when he said that "Billionaires should not exist." because even when they do good things with their wealth, it's always a pittance and far less than a professional government operation would achieve in the same amount of time.

Bill Gates goal was never to be super rich, but rather to create a successful OS for normal computer users. It just so happens that once you have a good OS, everyone wants to use it.

Yes most billionaires are a bit crazy but I think Bill Gates is the exception. He's just a really smart guy who hit the OS market at the perfect time.

 

[Sean T]

I've always said that to be a billionaire, a person has to be a psychopath because no sane person would spend all the time that he has trying to get richer and richer. Hell, I couldn't see myself going past $10 million without retiring and having said that, I'd probably retire with $5 million or less.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. I'm all for taxing the hell out of these ultra rich. I'm fairly conservative, but with how many of these ultra rich want to preach about those not contributing their 'fair share' while sitting on billions, it makes me very liberal towards them. Sure, they made their billions and then want to turn around and say future generations needs to pay more. I have a simple solution, individuals with a net worth of $500 million or more are required to pay a 'I'm a rich prick' tax of 50% of their total net worth each year until their net worth is $500 million or less. As a conservative, I stand behind this 100%.

 

[terzaerian]

I agree with a lot of what you say here. I'm all for taxing the hell out of these ultra rich. I'm fairly conservative, but with how many of these ultra rich want to preach about those not contributing their 'fair share' while sitting on billions, it makes me very liberal towards them. Sure, they made their billions and then want to turn around and say future generations needs to pay more. I have a simple solution, individuals with a net worth of $500 million or more are required to pay a 'I'm a rich prick' tax of 50% of their total net worth each year until their net worth is $500 million or less. As a conservative, I stand behind this 100%.

The trick is the ultra-rich can also afford to pay to pursue the loopholes that will allow them to hoard their wealth.

I guess, like Epstein and Weinstein, Bill finally broke the patience of his peers somehow, and now he's getting #MeToo'd. Dirty laundry like this doesn't get revealed to the media for no reason.

 

[Burty117]

Also, Astra Zeneca is a backstabbing greedy corporation that deliberation swindled Europe by selling drugs they knew they didn't have capacity for.

I thought that was because Europe took over 3 months longer to sign anything off vs the UK? And for some unknown reason Europe thought they'd be able to supply the entire continent within two weeks...

 

[duckofdeath]

I thought that was because Europe took over 3 months longer to sign anything off vs the UK? And for some unknown reason Europe thought they'd be able to supply the entire continent within two weeks...

That was proven a lie by AZ. The EU made an early order, AZ promised it would be made from their EU plant, that they knew wasn't ready. They lied to get the fast money for a drug that'll be obsolete by the time they can deliver it.

 

[Burty117]

That was proven a lie by AZ. The EU made an early order, AZ promised it would be made from their EU plant, that they knew wasn't ready. They lied to get the fast money for a drug that'll be obsolete by the time they can deliver it.

What? By "early order" you mean 3 months later than the UK? And I'm pretty sure the EU plant was fully operational, the entire argument was around the fact the EU plant was delivering to the UK and not mainland Europe. EU leaders thought once they signed on the dotted line they would just divert everything from going to the UK to the EU. Or am I getting AZ mixed up with Pfizer?

 

[Avro Arrow]

Bill Gates goal was never to be super rich, but rather to create a successful OS for normal computer users. It just so happens that once you have a good OS, everyone wants to use it.

Yes most billionaires are a bit crazy but I think Bill Gates is the exception. He's just a really smart guy who hit the OS market at the perfect time.

I never said that he was stupid, I said that he was a psychopath and a good number of psychopaths are brilliant. As for the OS, he never created it. He bought an existing OS called "86-DOS" from Tim Paterson, the REAL creator of DOS for $50,000. Then Microsoft led a HUGE misinformation campaign with Windows 3.1 to ensure that it beat out a FAR superior product called IBM OS/2. Windows 3.1 was just a DOS mask that used "co-operative multitasking while OS/2 was an actual operating system that used seamless multitasking and was much faster. It wasn't until Windows 95 that MS had anything even close to as good as OS/2 v2.0 and OS/2 Warp were.

I'm kinda old. I remember the early years. Bill Gates is a genius, but he's also a psychopathic opportunist. He tipped his hand when he said that the vaccine patent shouldn't be temporarily suspended to increase production and lied about the reason why. He said that there were no facilities in the world capable of making the vaccine that weren't already doing so. As he said this, a brand-new and state-of-the-art vaccine lab in Bangladesh was sitting idle.
Bill Gates Lied to Protect Vaccine Makers’ Profits Over Public Health
Now, what were you saying about Bill Gates?

 

[Avro Arrow]

I agree with a lot of what you say here. I'm all for taxing the hell out of these ultra rich. I'm fairly conservative, but with how many of these ultra rich want to preach about those not contributing their 'fair share' while sitting on billions, it makes me very liberal towards them. Sure, they made their billions and then want to turn around and say future generations needs to pay more. I have a simple solution, individuals with a net worth of $500 million or more are required to pay a 'I'm a rich prick' tax of 50% of their total net worth each year until their net worth is $500 million or less. As a conservative, I stand behind this 100%.

There are different kinds of conservatives. There are social conservatives (cultural) and economic conservatives (also known as NeoLiberal). Being an actual conservative in the USA these days kinda gives you the moniker of "Centrist Democrat" because of how far to the right the Overton window in the USA has moved. Wanting to tax the rich doesn't make you Liberal, it makes you sensible. The US media makes you think that it's a left-wing idea only but it's not.

Remember that the term "conservative" means "conserving the best parts of the old ways while still progressing forward" but it's been hijacked by far-right regressives. Well, the tax rate on rich Americans used to be MUCH higher, like, in the 50s and 60s so one could say that taxing the rich is actually conservative.

 

[Kirby1]

I never said that he was stupid, I said that he was a psychopath and a good number of psychopaths are brilliant. As for the OS, he never created it. He bought an existing OS called "86-DOS" from Tim Paterson, the REAL creator of DOS for $50,000. Then Microsoft led a HUGE misinformation campaign with Windows 3.1 to ensure that it beat out a FAR superior product called IBM OS/2. Windows 3.1 was just a DOS mask that used "co-operative multitasking while OS/2 was an actual operating system that used seamless multitasking and was much faster. It wasn't until Windows 95 that MS had anything even close to as good as OS/2 v2.0 and OS/2 Warp were.

I'm kinda old. I remember the early years. Bill Gates is a genius, but he's also a psychopathic opportunist. He tipped his hand when he said that the vaccine patent shouldn't be temporarily suspended to increase production and lied about the reason why. He said that there were no facilities in the world capable of making the vaccine that weren't already doing so. As he said this, a brand-new and state-of-the-art vaccine lab in Bangladesh was sitting idle.
Bill Gates Lied to Protect Vaccine Makers’ Profits Over Public Health
Now, what were you saying about Bill Gates?

I understand what you said. Saying it a second time doesn't change that.

Clearly you did not understand what I said, but I'm not going to repeat it.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I understand what you said. Saying it a second time doesn't change that.

Clearly you did not understand what I said, but I'm not going to repeat it.

You said that he's different. I said that he's not. I proved that he's not, you haven't proven that he is. I'm not going to repeat myself either.

 

[koblongata]

Oh man...

 

[mbrowne5061]

I agree with a lot of what you say here. I'm all for taxing the hell out of these ultra rich. I'm fairly conservative, but with how many of these ultra rich want to preach about those not contributing their 'fair share' while sitting on billions, it makes me very liberal towards them. Sure, they made their billions and then want to turn around and say future generations needs to pay more. I have a simple solution, individuals with a net worth of $500 million or more are required to pay a 'I'm a rich prick' tax of 50% of their total net worth each year until their net worth is $500 million or less. As a conservative, I stand behind this 100%.

And it has the bonus incentive of wanting to spend that money on goods and services - use or lose it through taxes. The only flaw is if they are able to grow their wealth by more than the wealth tax rate, then it doesn't really do anything.

 

[cliffordcooley]

A normal affair, yes... but if you’re in a position of power (and CEO of MS is just about the epitome of power), having an affair with an employee is inappropriate.

So what! We both know it was mutual. Even twenty years ago anyone could file a sexual harassment case. That didn't happen. I'm banking on a butthurt gold digger at it again from a different angle.