Microsoft Founder Bill Gates’ departure from the company’s board last year may have been due to pressure from other board members, prompted by allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.
This revelations follow just over two weeks after Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce, ending their marriage after 27 years.
Bill Gates was accused of having pursued a relationship with a Microsoft employee in 2000, in a letter sent to the board by a Microsoft engineer, Wall Street Journal reported.
The board hired a law firm to investigate the accusation in 2019, and some members also decided it was unsuitable for Gates to remain a director while the probe was being conducted.
A spokeswoman for Gates said “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.”
She added that Gates’ decision to leave 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.”
Meanwhile, during the 27 years that Bill Gates was married to Melinda Gates, he was spending at least one weekend in a year on a trip with his former girlfriend, Ann Winblad with the consent of his wife.
Bill Gates is also reported to have said Melinda gates was not interested in his technology work but his former girlfriend is.
