![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KADR7BSW3DOLQSQJXMC6NU2VKI.jpg?smart=true&auth=040be1ad5099b8232167d6f45240717ab533d1de55036a3bb6ed417618f05ab7&width=400&height=225)
Bill and Melinda Gates smile at each other during an interview in Kirkland, Washington, Feb. 1, 2019. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VTRLPPJ7RC2KHNTTBQV6RLXKXA.jpg?smart=true&auth=9ff1eab57ebf69851448ac4c043f27db8a53977477da9e9b58bf63399e263571&width=400&height=225)
In this Jan. 9, 1994, file photo, computer mogul Bill Gates III and bride Melinda French greet guests in a reception line at a private estate in Seattle. The couple was married in Hawaii the week prior. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/K5CQVT4SPQPP6YUNZ7G7DK5L3Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=1373b8f322cae4856e5a53f3eb2021219a78c772213086df32c3e96dee036a0a&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates Chairman and CEO of Microsoft and his wife Melinda listens to Josh Stack, 15, explaining the Demopolis, Alabama web site on a computer at the Demopolis Public library, February 24, 1998. Reuters.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/546PONRBEBHEVV7MDYUBW7TUX4.jpg?smart=true&auth=5058c66815a0762e3600a3aff614da93a0814bf2bc28988c6c0796e3991533c0&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates contends with an ill-fitting hard hat while his wife, Melinda Gates, looks on in Seattle at the groundbreaking of the University of Washington's new law school facility, William H. Gates Hall, May 4, 2001. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LUFTM5Z5KQROI3J2MTD2VZQH5M.jpg?smart=true&auth=e3509864e3f6dc594deab121877681b16ca7fa96961fc58119b37a2953681ad8&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, left, walk on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 5, 2005. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/252H5LGYA3YPDFXYXXDXYKK5MA.jpg?smart=true&auth=7d273bef3339088aa97f6a066464ae32110b508c5723f72f8ab465062807638e&width=400&height=225)
US Microsoft owner Bill Gates addresses a youth forum on HIV/AIDS at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, 22 September 2003, as his wife Melinda Gates and former South African President Nelson Mandela listen to him. AFP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LQML3RCBDEEE46MDIJNHTSGFHE.jpg?smart=true&auth=86351fd46e35189266832f04dfae25025ee0708e6f04d2ccac0c47584d42836d&width=400&height=225)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presents Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates with his honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace, London, Wednesday March 2, 2005 watched by his wife Melinda. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FAPZI7VMDCVO6GADWWELZ6SHR4.jpg?smart=true&auth=9b267a05a13c9438a3f34d8d4c58d7b3c0ebb1bd4108ad8e60fb20f18e8dc71d&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda hold a press conference in New York 02 December to announce a 100 million USD gift to establish the Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PHTWJHDZH6WMXSRI42ZHTLTF2M.jpg?smart=true&auth=1832441f42c47f7019f7e7aa06368aca0a8935be6c8f975a2c75b2e1923ad27b&width=400&height=225)
Melinda Gates smiles at her husband Bill Gates during the opening news conference for AIDS 2006, the XVI International AIDS conference in Toronto, August 13, 2006. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QSVIZFKJ3PBBBGZZJK2VQZYCMY.jpg?smart=true&auth=477f2851ffd8d2d0d7f4261f906f8c5ef26750dbc4b1c2ec5a7e624d25134eb7&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates shares the stage with his wife Melinda during the 123rd Stanford commencement ceremony in Stanford, California. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/EYPI3OMG2W4QXVL2JF6Z427EWY.jpg?smart=true&auth=87e8659d266ee5d2e7793637a637e06dda5346cabdce951d21330cf052c9c2b9&width=400&height=225)
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates watch the swimming events at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in Beijing, China August 10, 2008. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/A5RBULRYS27INB6JCR2TNITXIY.jpg?smart=true&auth=62c472de3c16680ae59dd4e87d78b68c132e3eff786d5087497357cf636e45da&width=400&height=225)
Bill and Melinda Gates attend a debate on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in Brussels January 22, 2015. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OAYIAR5ZJDLSHTU5E7P6BMWA5Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=6d888a1a4ec02a87c48e15c476a9a937a3739d0774c1693d0cc621c52c674bd7&width=400&height=225)
Philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda talk, after being awarded Commanders of the Legion of Honor at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 21, 2017. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KADR7BSW3DOLQSQJXMC6NU2VKI.jpg?smart=true&auth=040be1ad5099b8232167d6f45240717ab533d1de55036a3bb6ed417618f05ab7&width=400&height=225)
Bill and Melinda Gates smile at each other during an interview in Kirkland, Washington, Feb. 1, 2019. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VTRLPPJ7RC2KHNTTBQV6RLXKXA.jpg?smart=true&auth=9ff1eab57ebf69851448ac4c043f27db8a53977477da9e9b58bf63399e263571&width=400&height=225)
In this Jan. 9, 1994, file photo, computer mogul Bill Gates III and bride Melinda French greet guests in a reception line at a private estate in Seattle. The couple was married in Hawaii the week prior. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/K5CQVT4SPQPP6YUNZ7G7DK5L3Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=1373b8f322cae4856e5a53f3eb2021219a78c772213086df32c3e96dee036a0a&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates Chairman and CEO of Microsoft and his wife Melinda listens to Josh Stack, 15, explaining the Demopolis, Alabama web site on a computer at the Demopolis Public library, February 24, 1998. Reuters.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/546PONRBEBHEVV7MDYUBW7TUX4.jpg?smart=true&auth=5058c66815a0762e3600a3aff614da93a0814bf2bc28988c6c0796e3991533c0&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates contends with an ill-fitting hard hat while his wife, Melinda Gates, looks on in Seattle at the groundbreaking of the University of Washington's new law school facility, William H. Gates Hall, May 4, 2001. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LUFTM5Z5KQROI3J2MTD2VZQH5M.jpg?smart=true&auth=e3509864e3f6dc594deab121877681b16ca7fa96961fc58119b37a2953681ad8&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, left, walk on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 5, 2005. AP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/252H5LGYA3YPDFXYXXDXYKK5MA.jpg?smart=true&auth=7d273bef3339088aa97f6a066464ae32110b508c5723f72f8ab465062807638e&width=400&height=225)
US Microsoft owner Bill Gates addresses a youth forum on HIV/AIDS at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, 22 September 2003, as his wife Melinda Gates and former South African President Nelson Mandela listen to him. AFP Photo
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LQML3RCBDEEE46MDIJNHTSGFHE.jpg?smart=true&auth=86351fd46e35189266832f04dfae25025ee0708e6f04d2ccac0c47584d42836d&width=400&height=225)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presents Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates with his honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace, London, Wednesday March 2, 2005 watched by his wife Melinda. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FAPZI7VMDCVO6GADWWELZ6SHR4.jpg?smart=true&auth=9b267a05a13c9438a3f34d8d4c58d7b3c0ebb1bd4108ad8e60fb20f18e8dc71d&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda hold a press conference in New York 02 December to announce a 100 million USD gift to establish the Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PHTWJHDZH6WMXSRI42ZHTLTF2M.jpg?smart=true&auth=1832441f42c47f7019f7e7aa06368aca0a8935be6c8f975a2c75b2e1923ad27b&width=400&height=225)
Melinda Gates smiles at her husband Bill Gates during the opening news conference for AIDS 2006, the XVI International AIDS conference in Toronto, August 13, 2006. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QSVIZFKJ3PBBBGZZJK2VQZYCMY.jpg?smart=true&auth=477f2851ffd8d2d0d7f4261f906f8c5ef26750dbc4b1c2ec5a7e624d25134eb7&width=400&height=225)
Bill Gates shares the stage with his wife Melinda during the 123rd Stanford commencement ceremony in Stanford, California. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/EYPI3OMG2W4QXVL2JF6Z427EWY.jpg?smart=true&auth=87e8659d266ee5d2e7793637a637e06dda5346cabdce951d21330cf052c9c2b9&width=400&height=225)
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates watch the swimming events at the National Aquatics Center during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in Beijing, China August 10, 2008. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/A5RBULRYS27INB6JCR2TNITXIY.jpg?smart=true&auth=62c472de3c16680ae59dd4e87d78b68c132e3eff786d5087497357cf636e45da&width=400&height=225)
Bill and Melinda Gates attend a debate on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in Brussels January 22, 2015. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OAYIAR5ZJDLSHTU5E7P6BMWA5Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=6d888a1a4ec02a87c48e15c476a9a937a3739d0774c1693d0cc621c52c674bd7&width=400&height=225)
Philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda talk, after being awarded Commanders of the Legion of Honor at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 21, 2017. Reuters
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KADR7BSW3DOLQSQJXMC6NU2VKI.jpg?smart=true&auth=040be1ad5099b8232167d6f45240717ab533d1de55036a3bb6ed417618f05ab7&width=400&height=225)
Bill and Melinda Gates smile at each other during an interview in Kirkland, Washington, Feb. 1, 2019. AP Photo
Bill and Melinda Gates: five initiatives championed by their foundation
Despite announcing their divorce, the couple have said they will remain dedicated to continuing to support causes they believe in through their foundation
![Evelyn Lau](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F326930c8-426e-4292-8915-488062faf4ec.png?smart=true&auth=bf65363a4ec5524d4fde02fe884073b2948f09e3aaac804a1077fa41b77f1ecb&width=70&height=70)
Evelyn Lau
04 May, 2021
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