Further details of billionaire Bill Gates's gargantuan divorce settlement with former wife Melinda have emerged, with tax filings revealing an eye-watering payout of almost $8,000,000,000.

The couple began divorce proceedings in 2021, and as part of their settlement, in 2024, the Microsoft co-founder made a whopping $7.88 billion donation to his ex's charity, the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, according to financial documents reviewed by the New York Times.

His fortune has taken a considerable hit throughout the divorce proceedings, with Gates taking the record for one of the most expensive divorces ever.

In total, Melinda Gates received a $76 billion payout from the divorce. Much of that money has been channeled into Melinda's solo charitable work, with her ex-husband's almost $8bn donation making up just a portion of the settlement earmarked to help projects that make the lives of women better and help struggling families.

A further $4 billion is likely to have been donated to similar charities in the years since, as the settlement agreed to donating $12.5 billion to these causes, with a spokesperson for Pivotal Philanthropies saying that Bill's 'agreement has been fulfilled.'

In the same year that Bill made the $8bn payment to his ex's charity, Melinda announced that she was also stepping back from the charity founded by herself and her husband - formerly called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Now just the Gates Foundation, Melinda said in a 2024 statement: "This is not a decision I came to lightly.

"I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together, and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”

She also highlighted the impact that Bill's hefty donation would have on the lives of women and girls around the world, adding: "This is a critical moment for women and girls in the U.S., and around the world-and those fighting to protect and advance equality are in urgent need of support."

Once the dust had settled, Melinda described the end of their 30-year marriage as 'painful' but necessary, as their relationship 'wasn't healthy' and they 'couldn't trust' that the relationship was working.

Bill, meanwhile, has described extreme regret at his marriage falling apart, as well as his ex stepping back from the charitable foundation they had built into the largest in the entire world, barring the Catholic Church.

He told the Times: "When we got divorced it was tough and then she made the decision to leave the foundation — I was disappointed that she took the option to go off.”

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