Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft Corporation in 1975 alongside his childhood best friend Paul Allen. Although he stepped down as chairman six years ago, the business tycoon and his wife Melinda, are worth billions.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the couple said: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.

“Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.

“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.

“We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

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The 65-year-old has been on the Forbes list of the wealthiest people since 1987.

He is said to be worth an estimated $133billion (£95billion), with the bulk of his earnings coming from co-founding the computer company.

TheStreet found out that between 2017 and 2018, Gates made a huge $10million (£7.2million) a day, $456,625 (£329,457) an hour, and $7,610 (£5,490) a minute.

As well as co-founding Microsoft, Gates has also headed up several companies including BEN, Cascade Investment, bgC3 and TerraPower.

The businessman was already a billionaire when the couple met. 

Melinda left Microsoft in 1996 to focus on family and philanthropy. 

She is also the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which ended 2019 with net assets of £43.3billion (£31billion).

She has been consistently ranked as one of the world’s most powerful women by Forbes.

The couple have also shared an interest in philanthropy including climate change, global health and development, and education.

Their separation could set records for one of the largest divorce settlements to date due to their staggering net worths and no reported prenup.

The largest settlement ever was recorded a few backs back when Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the world’s wealthiest man, finalised a divorce from MacKenzie Scott for nearly $36billion (£25billion).

Source: | This article originally belongs to Express.co.uk