● 蓋茨（右）與梅琳達（左）宣布離婚。圖為兩人2016年接受訪問時的照片。 資料圖片【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》5月5日︰
美國微軟（Microsoft）公司創辦人蓋茨（Bill Gates）5月3日突然宣布與妻子梅琳達（Melinda）離婚，結束27年婚姻關係，聲明形容離婚是「經過深思熟慮」的決定，又稱今後會繼續致力於兩人聯名慈善基金會（charitable foundation）的工作。美國傳媒公開兩人的離婚申請書，顯示梅琳達是提出離婚的一方，原因是「婚姻已無可挽救地破裂」，兩人已經分居一段時間，沒有婚前協議（prenuptial agreement），梅琳達亦沒有要求贍養費（maintenance payment）。不過文件顯示兩人已簽訂資產分割協議，就如何分配估計值1,460億美元（約1.1萬億港元）的身家達成共識（consensus）。
蓋茨與梅琳達的離婚事前可說完全沒有先兆可言，兩人分別在個人Twitter賬號發表一模一樣的聲明（statement），宣布離婚，「在經過深思熟慮和努力挽救後，我們決定結束婚姻關係。過去27年間，我們養育了3名傑出的子女，建立了一個基金會，為全世界努力，讓所有人過着健康和有意義的生活。」聲明稱，他們今後會繼續共同致力於「比爾與梅琳達．蓋茨基金會」（Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation）的工作，「但到了人生的下一個階段，我們不再相信我們能以夫妻身份一起成長。（We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple）」
聲明沒有透露兩人確實的離婚原因，以及身家分配等細節，僅懇求外界尊重他們和家人的空間（space）和私隱（privacy）。
現年65歲的蓋茨與56歲的梅琳達在1987年相識，當時梅琳達剛加入蓋茨創立的微軟不久，兩人未幾相戀，1994年在夏威夷（Hawaii）結婚。兩人過去甚少傳出不和或婚變傳聞，反而經常在社交媒體和訪問中公開「晒恩愛」，例如去年情人節（Valentine's Day），蓋茨便上載與梅琳達摟腰結伴出遊的合照，盛讚妻子是「人生最佳伴侶（companion）」；2019年Netflix製作蓋茨傳記紀錄片，當時蓋茨亦形容兩人是「真正平等的（equal）伴侶」，並表示如果這一刻就要死，死前最後一句要說的話必定是「感謝梅琳達」。
不過梅琳達在2019年兩人結婚25周年紀念時也說過，蓋茨每天工作16小時，很難抽出時間陪家人，形容這段婚姻有過「非常艱難」的日子。蓋茨與梅琳達的25歲大女兒珍妮弗（Jennifer Gates）則在父母宣布離婚後，在Instagram發出限時動態，形容這段時間「對我們全家人來說極具挑戰」，「我這一刻還在學習如何自我消化種種情緒，同時好好照顧家人的心情。」
蓋茨與梅琳達原本是全球最富有的夫妻之一，《福布斯》（Forbes）雜誌估計蓋茨身家達1,300億美元（約1萬億港元），彭博社（Bloomberg News）則估計達1,460億美元，因此兩人身家如何分配，以及「比爾與梅琳達．蓋茨基金會」未來如何運作，都備受各界關注。基金會發聲明，表示蓋茨和梅琳達將留任基金會共同主席（co-chairs）及信託人（trustee），繼續攜手打造基金會的策略及推動慈善事業，史丹福大學（Stanford University）政治學教授賴希（Rob Reich）指出，由於基金會屬於「家庭基金」（family foundation），兩人的離婚勢必對基金會運作產生重大影響。
Bill and Melinda Gates to divorce, with trillions of wealth for division
【譯文】The U.S. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda announced on 3 May they were ending their 27-year marriage, saying that the decision of divorce was made "after a great deal of thought", but they would continue to jointly run their private charitable foundation in the future. The U.S. media revealed that Melinda was the party who filed for the divorce for the reason that their marriage was "irretrievably broken". The pair had been separated for a certain period of time without a prenuptial agreement, and Melinda did not ask for any maintenance payment. However, relevant documents showed that they had signed a separation contract regarding assets division, and a consensus had already been reached as on how to split their communal property estimated at US$146 billion （approximately HK$1.1 trillion）.
The divorce of the couple could be said to have no indication beforehand. They tweeted identical statements announcing their divorce, saying that "after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.
Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives." The statement said they would continue their work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives."
The statement did not disclose the exact reason for the divorce, nor any details relating to the division of wealth, but asked for space and privacy for the pair and their family.
Gates, now 65, and Melinda, 56, met in 1987 when Melinda first joined Microsoft that year. They began to fall in love and eventually got married in 1994 in Hawaii. There had been few rumors of marital discord between the pair over the years, instead, they often displayed the image of a loving couple in social media and interviews.
For instance, on Valentine's Day last year, Gates posted a photo of traveling with Melinda and praised his wife as the "best companion" in his life; while in a 2019 Netflix documentary series, Gates said that he and Melinda were "truly equal partners", and the last thing to do if he were about to die must be "thanking Melinda".
However, Melinda said in 2019 to mark their 25th anniversary that Gates often worked 16-hour days and could find it hard to make time for the family, describing that there had been some days that were so "incredibly hard" in their marriage.
Jennifer Gates, their 25-year-old daughter, said the family had been going through "a challenging stretch of time" after this shocking divorce announcement. "I'm still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as my family members," she posted a limited-time update on Instagram.
Bill and Melinda Gates were originally one of the richest couples in the world. As per Forbes, Gates was estimated to be worth over US$130 billion （approximately HK$1 trillion）, while his fortune was even estimated at US$146 billion according to the Bloomberg News. Accordingly, the division of the pair's wealth and future operation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had attracted much attention from all walks of life. The foundation issued a statement stating that the couple would remain co-chairs and trustees of the foundation, and would work jointly to shape and approve its strategies and overall direction. Yet, Rob Reich, a professor of political science at Stanford University, said that given the nature as a private family foundation, the divorce would definitely have a major impact on the running of the foundation.●龐嘉儀
Q&A
1. 於《福布斯》全球富豪榜中，蓋茨曾連續多少年蟬聯世界首富？
2. 蓋茨於何時當選為中國工程院（Chinese Academy of Engineering）外籍院士？
3. 「比爾與梅琳達．蓋茨基金會」以哪裡為基地？
4. 微軟公司由蓋茨與誰共同創立？
5. 微軟公司最為著名和暢銷的產品有哪些？
Answer
1. 13年
2. 2017年
3. 美國西雅圖（Seattle）
4. 保羅．艾倫（Paul Allen）
5. Microsoft Windows作業系統、Microsoft Office辦公室軟體