Bill & Melinda Gates ‘lived in separate wings of $130m Washington mansion for past five years’, says ex-employee
BILL and Melinda Gates lived in separate wings of their Seattle mansion for the past five years, an ex-employee has claimed.
The property, located in Washington, is estimated to be worth well over $100million and considered to be the Microsoft co-founder's main home.
An unnamed former employee told The Independent that there were rumors that Gates and Melinda lived separately in different wings of the property for five years.
The mansion, known as ‘Xanadu 2.0’, was originally bought in 1988 for $2million.
It took seven years to build and includes six kitchens, a trampoline room, a 60-foot swimming pool and can accommodate up to 200 people.
It is reported that there is $80,000 worth of screens inside the home.
The mega-mansion takes its name from the movie Citizen Kane where the main character Charles Foster Kane builds a huge estate known for its size.
The former employee also alleged that Gates was notorious for being socially awkward.
They said: "Before I briefed him for the first time, I was told not to shake hands and not to give my name because he was not interested in that."
It comes as Melinda may be vying to change her three children's inheritance in her divorce from the 65-year-old after he repeatedly said he plans to give away his $130billion fortune.
Bill has said on several occasions that he plans to leave his children just $10million when he dies.
Melinda had previously appeared to be on board with the plans to give their three kids - Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 18 - a "minuscule portion" of their vast estate, though her stance appears to have shifted.
The philanthropist took the unconventional step of naming top trust and estate lawyers as her representatives in her divorce filing, along with the customary matrimonial reps.
Reports claim that Gates reportedly asked Jeffrey Epstein for advice on how to end his “toxic” marriage with Melinda amid reports that he allegedly had an affair with a female staffer.
One of the people who were at the meetings told the Daily Beast: “Going to Jeffrey’s was a respite from his marriage. It was a way of getting away from Melinda.”
A representative for the Microsoft co-founder disputes the claims adding that Bill never received any advice from Epstein on his marriage.
They said that Bill never complained about Melinda or his marriage when speaking with the disgraced financier.
Melinda was reportedly "disturbed" by Gates' alleged relationship with Epstein.
It has also been reported that Gates resigned from the Microsoft board after he allegedly had an affair with a female staffer.
Board members are said to have carried out an investigation into the billionaire’s romantic relationship with a Microsoft engineer in late 2019 after she claimed in a letter she had a sexual relationship with Gates for a number of years.
The relationship was deemed by the board to be “inappropriate,” people familiar with events told The Wall Street Journal.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” a spokeswoman for Gates told the Journal, adding that his departure from the board was not related to the relationship.
It has also been claimed Gates “pursued” several women in his office after he wed now-estranged wife Melinda in 1994, according to a New York Times report.
The paper details two alleged instances where the tech mogul clumsily asked out women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In one instance, Bill Gates is said to have asked out a female Microsoft employee in 2006, following a presentation, two people familiar with the exchange told the Times.
Years later, another woman, who worked for the Gates' foundation told the Times, that he had allegedly asked her out during a work trip to New York.
Some of the employees who spoke to the Times said they didn’t see Gates’ behavior as predatory, adding he did not pressurize the women into submitting to his advances.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Bill, said he had never mistreated any employees.
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Earlier this month Gates and his wife Melinda announced they were ending their marriage after 27 years.
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A joint statement posted on Twitter said: “We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
No reason has been given for the split.