
For decades, Bill Gates' public persona has been different to his fellow tech billionaires.
By highlighting his philanthropy, avoiding personal scandals and not naming any of his children X Æ A-12, Gates has maintained his image as the straight-and-narrow Microsoft founder with the largest foundation in the world.
He's a far cry from the more erratic, controversial tech billionaires of past and present, like Apple's Steve Jobs, Oracle's Larry Ellison and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
A major part of this identity had been his 27-year marriage to Melinda Gates, and their steadfast commitment to philanthropy.
Then, earlier in May 2021, the billionaires announced they were divorcing.
Within 24 hours of the first headlines, exploring the history of their relationship and speculating what would happen to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's funds, came new angles.
How Gates sought the approval of his ex-girlfriend Ann Winblad before proposing the Melinda, and maintained annual holidays with his ex even after his marriage. A frosty relationship with fellow tech genius Steve Jobs, and the decline of his friendship with Microsoft co-founder and long-time friend Paul Allen. His friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bill Gates, 66, has always carefully controlled his public image. In Melinda's petition for divorce, their marriage was described as "irretrievably broken." They went on to finalise their divorce in August.
Gates' image is getting the type of scrutiny he never wanted.
The youth of Bill Gates.
Gates was allegedly wilder in his youth than you may expect.
According to a biography by author James Wallace, Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace, during Gates's two years at Harvard (he dropped out early to start Microsoft) he liked to "frequent Boston's notorious Combat Zone, with its porn shows, strip joints and prostitutes".
In 1994, Gates said there were "things I did under the age of 25 that I ended up not doing subsequently".
"Ever take LSD?" the interviewer asked.
"My errant youth ended a long time ago," he responded.
Image: Getty.
Top Comments