Bill Gates transferred stock worth about $2.4 billion to Melinda Gates on the same day they announced their divorce.
Bill Gates moved stock worth approximately $2.4 billion to Melinda Gates on the same day they announced their marriage had ended.
According to SEC filings, the Microsoft cofounder's holding firm, Cascade Investment, passed stakes in the largest owner of US car dealerships, a Coca-Cola bottler, a Mexican broadcaster, and a railway company to her control.
She now owns a $121 million 4.7 percent interest in Coca-Cola Femsa and a $386 million 6.7 percent stake in Grupo Televisa. As a result, she is a major shareholder in two of Mexico's largest corporations.
Bill Gates has reportedly passed some of his investments in Canada National Railway and AutoNation to his ex-wife, according to court documents. His 1.9 percent stake in Canada's longest railway system was valued at $1.5 billion as of Wednesday's closing price, while his 3.7 percent stake in the auto retailer was valued at $307 million.
According to filings, Cascade still holds 12.3% of the railway company and 19.2% of AutoNation, but it is no longer listed as a shareholder of the two Mexican companies.
Most of Bill Gates' interest in Microsoft, which he led for 34 years, has been sold or donated. According to Bloomberg, he personally holds 1% of the tech firm and is worth an estimated $144 billion.
Via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the billionaire philanthropists have given away a large portion of their $130 billion fortune. The pair did not sign a prenuptial agreement and would divide their assets and debts according to the terms of a "separation deal." Melinda Gates did not request spousal assistance in her divorce filings.
She described her marriage to the billionaire cofounder as "irretrievably broken" in court records.
Their split comes two years after another tech billionaire couple, Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott of Amazon, declared their split in 2019. The Gates were represented by two attorneys who worked on their divorce case.
