Microsoft Corp. board members had investigated its co-founder Bill Gates having a romantic relationship with a female Microsoft employee which was inappropriate. The affair was informed in 2019 and the board members thought in 2020 that it was not appropriate for Gates to continue as its sitting board member of the company.
Microsoft in a statement said, "Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000. A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern."
The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported online that Gates has resigned from the boards even before the investigation ended, citing another person familiar with the matter.
There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended peacefully, an unnamed spokeswoman for Gates confirmed to The Journal.
The spokesperson added, “his decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter."
However, last year when Gates was leaving the Microsoft board, Gates said that he was resigning from the Board to focus on philanthropy work.
Microsoft has not provided any further information on the investigation.
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Earlier in May, Bill and Melinda Gates had announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage but will keep working together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world.
Formerly, one of the richest men in the world, Gates fortune is estimated to be over $100 billion.
The New York Times on Sunday stated that Gates has made a reputation for “questionable conduct in work-related settings."
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Citing some people who have direct knowledge of Gates' behaviour, The Times reported that Gates on a few occasions was seen making advances to women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.