A former Microsoft engineer is contending that she had a “sexual relationship over years with Mr. Gates,” according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter.
One Microsoft representative corroborated the company amassed a letter about the matter in 2019, which said Gates “sought to incite an inseparable relationship with a company worker in the year 2000,” CNN reports.
Microsoft’s Board then hired an outside law outfit to perform a “thorough” investigation, says the spokesperson.
However, Gates resigned before the investigation ended.
Gates’ spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the billionaire’s withdrawal from the company wasn’t because of the relationship.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably. Bill’s decision to transiton off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in disbursing more time on his generosity starting many years earlier,” the source said.
This weekend’s WSJ story follows an earlier report by The New York Times which said that Gates “pursued women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” on a “few” circumstances. The New York Times cited “people with direct proficiency with overtures” but didn’t provide any names.
Last week the billionaire couple declared openly their pending divorce on social media.
Melinda’s divorce petition filed in King County, Washington, reportedly says the marriage is “irretrievably shattered.”
Source: Ghanaontheglobe.com