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Bill Gates left Microsoft board amid probe into prior relationship with staffer
- Mandatum 5y agoPaywall.. EDIT: Found the same article content elsewhere: https://outline.com/B8P42Z https://outline.com/B8P42Z
- rmdashrfstar 5y ago> “Microsoft Corp. board members decided that Bill Gates needed to step down from its board in 2020 as they pursued an investigation into the billionaire’s prior romantic relationship with a female Microsoft employee that was deemed inappropriate, people familiar with the matter said.” Who are “people familiar with the matter”?
- gruez 5y agobasically unnamed sources
- cma 5y agoCould they be talking about his relationship with Melinda? She was his subordinate at Microsoft when he started their workplace romance.
- pseudalopex 5y agoNo. A Microsoft spokesman said it happened in 2000.
- rkk3 5y ago"A spokeswoman for Mr. Gates said, 'There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.'"
- drummer 5y agoWhy is this news? If Gates had lunch with her would anyone give a fuck? Sex is a basic human need just like eating.
- qzw 5y agoEverything is about sex, except sex, which is about power. — Oscar Wilde (maybe)
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- SMAAART 5y agoEverything is about money, except money, which is about sex. — Me
- kthejoker2 5y agoI ran down the original source as the noted sociolost Robert Michels https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/24100/what-is-the-original-source-of-everything-in-the-world-is-about-sex-except-sex https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/24100/what-is-t...
- refulgentis 5y agoBecause the $XXX billionaire married key founder in a multi-trillion dollar leading industry was hitting on the help while married
- throwaway81523 5y agoHe also did that before being married, i.e. Melinda was a Microsoft manager when she and Bill started dating.
- refulgentis 5y agoYes
- 5y ago
- gruez 5y agoIs this related to him getting divorced earlier this year?
- rkk3 5y agoCould be, but the affair was 20 years ago.
- pseudalopex 5y agoWhen his wife found out seems more relevant.
- jobu 5y agoThat seems likely: > Ms. French Gates had been working with lawyers at several firms since at least 2019 to unwind the marriage Also this: > Members of the Microsoft board became aware in late 2019 of the letter from the female engineer, who demanded changes to her Microsoft job and also shared details of her relationship with Mr. Gates The affair happened around 2000, and supposedly ended shortly after, but the timing of their divorce and Gates stepping down from the boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway on the same day in 2019 seems more than just a coincidence.
- pseudalopex 5y agoDetails about his relationship with Epstein were published in late 2019 too. And it's been reported she was unhappy about it.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- bell-cot 5y agoYes, in the big picture. IANAS ("...not a Sociologist"), but there seems to be an unspoken social rule that "the usual" sexual misbehaviors of an alpha male are pretty much ignored, so long as (1) his wife quietly tolerates them, and (2) no other alpha wants them aired. In this case - Mrs. Gates' filing for divorce made him fair game. Hence the recent deluge of stories about Mr. Gates' (seemingly) many and varied transgressions, stretching back decades. (I could speculate that this social rule is due to too many romantic dreamers not wanting their fantasies spoiled, other alphas and alpha wanna-be's not wanting "the usual" perks of that status lost, etc. But again, IANAS:)
- option 5y agowasn’t his wife initially a Microsoft employee? This is how they met.
- sgerenser 5y agoYeah I don’t feel like meeting someone at work is automatically a problem (although it’s still a potential landmine). Attempting to start a relationship someone at work when you’re already married is more of a problem.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- CamelCaseName 5y ago> A spokeswoman for Mr. Gates said, “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.” She said his “decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.” 20 years ago. Jeez.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 5y ago"20 years ago. Jeez." That is when it began, not when it ended.
- maxpert 5y agoYou die a hero, or you live long enough to become a villain!
- dinero_rojo 5y agoBill Gates has pretty consistently been a villain, actually...
- mgarfias 5y agoYeah, but in the past two weeks his personal life’s reputation has taken a massive hit. I had assumed he was an asshole when it came to biz stuff, but now it’s clear he’s been hiding his personal assholishness pretty well.
- dinero_rojo 5y agoBill’s done a lot of stuff that I think is pretty horrible, but could be kinda justified from a business perspective, like embrace, extend, extinguish. But for me, the thing that has always branded him as an irredeemable asshole on a personal level was when he tried to reduce Paul Allen’s share in Microsoft upon learning that he had cancer. I just literally cannot conceive of a “good person” even being able to take that kind of action. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2011/03/30/bill-gates-tried-to-screw-paul-allen-whats-the-surprise/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/fredericka...
- FranchuFranchu 5y agoPaywall evasion link: https://archive.is/Q9Z2w https://archive.is/Q9Z2w
- georgiecasey 5y agoI'm kind of shocked, I know Gates was a ruthless businessman but I always had him pegged as squeaky clean in his private life.
- mgh2 5y agoCaptain America's premise: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power."
- lexapro 5y agoConvicted sex offender Epstein and Bill Gates started hanging out in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor. It is known that Melinda Gates wasn't exactly happy about her husband spending so much time with a sex offender and there is speculation that this is why their marriage ended.
- ykevinator3 5y agoI'm kind of happy for him, the wife seemed kind of like she was in it for the money and I'm glad he got a moment of human love or lust before dying on his pile of money.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 5y agohttps://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930307&slug=1689167 https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930307&slug...