You Don’t Have to Root for Melinda Gates
Rather than choose sides in this P.R. war of plutocrat divorcées, we should scrutinize whether billionaire philanthropy really works.
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Since the surprise announcement earlier this month of Bill and Melinda Gates’ impending divorce, dirt has been piling up on one side. During the brain-meltingly rich couple’s 27-year marriage, Bill “had a reputation for questionable behavior,” as one
New York Timesheadline put it. His alleged transgressions included an extramarital affair, romantically pursuing subordinates, and maintaining warm relationships with both his money manager and Jeffrey Epstein even after both had been accused of sexual impropriety and even despite Melinda’s concerns, as unnamed sources emphatically note.