Two years of divorce and scandal
The new romance seems to have brought him back on track
Two years after the divorce, Bill Gates is in love again.
His new girlfriend, 60, is the widow of the late CEO of Oracle, the world's second-largest software company. The value is also not cheap, with assets of more than 100 million.
The two have been photographed watching tennis matches together many times, with similar interests and conversations, which seem to be very matched.
In the past two years, the influence of Gates' divorce case has continued to ferment, and many scandals have been exposed one after another: marital infidelity, harassment of female subordinates, dating with the "first pimp" in Europe and the United States who provides sexual services for the rich...
These stains on his private life have made his image of a "good old man" plummeting in front of the public, from a scientific and technological genius and a big philanthropist to another ordinary "scumbag".
Therefore, his first formal relationship after divorce received a high degree of attention.
So far, it seems that his choice has saved some word of mouth for himself.
01
The woman graduated from a prestigious school
The two bonded over tennis
Last month, Mr. Gates, 67, traveled to Australia for talks with the prime minister.
In his spare time, he also watched the Australian Open men's singles final, and was photographed sitting next to a woman, the two talked and laughed, and behaved intimately.
Sharp-eyed people quickly found that Gates' visit to Australia often appeared the figure of this woman.
Previously, the two strolled leisurely on the streets of Sydney, visited the Sydney Opera House together, and enjoyed the sea view, and were photographed. It's just that there was only one back at that time, and the identity of the woman could not be determined.
Until I saw the front face, I knew that this inseparable new girlfriend turned out to be Paula Hurd, which is not small.
Her ex-husband, Mark Hurd, who is a Silicon Valley boss with Gates, is the former CEO of Microsoft's rival company Oracle and also served as the CEO of HP.
In 2019, Mark passed away, ending the nearly 30-year marriage. Paula inherited a $500 million inheritance and started a new life with two children.
Of course, what really moves Gates is Paula's own excellence.
We all know that Gates likes to associate with famous school masters and Kochi elites, and Paula is also this type.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she also worked for a software company for 17 years as a technical lead.
After leaving in 2001, she turned to event planning and philanthropy, where she is still active.
Although Gates and Paula have not publicly confirmed their relationship, according to friends who know them, the two have actually been dating for more than a year, but have not yet seen each other's children. "It's not a secret in circles."
Some people also broke the news that their bond was probably because of tennis.
Like Gates, Paula is a tennis fan, and the two have been in the same frame in multiple games for a long time, even dating back to 2015.
It's just that they used to look at each other, and they happened to meet. After being together, it became like glue watching the battle together.
Last March, at the WTA semifinals in Indian Wells, California, it was clear that Gates was in a good mood.
The Laver Cup held at London's O2 Arena in September also had a harmonious atmosphere.
With the same tech background and like-minded hobbies, Paula seems to be a match with Gates, and indeed a good match.
Especially as a super rich, Gates did not choose a young girl, but found a 60-year-old peer, which also made many people sigh that at least the age is appropriate.
02
Two years mired in scandal
However, there are also many people who are not optimistic about this relationship.
After all, since Gates' divorce, there has been frequent negative news in his relationship, almost completely collapsing the character he has built over the years.
As one of the most well-known billionaires in China, Gates has always had a good reputation: a genius who changed the world, a successful entrepreneur, and a commitment to philanthropy.
His marriage was also a good story for a time. Hand in hand with his wife Melinda for 27 years, with 3 children, the family is stable and happy, it is simply a clear stream in the world of rich people's blood.
But with the divorce, his positive image was shattered.
In 2021, Gates and Melinda issued a divorce statement, saying that the relationship was "unable to continue to improve each other."
As for the real reason for the breakup, the two chose not to mention it.
But foreign media soon exposed all kinds of insider information, first of all, emotional entanglements with the ex.
Time magazine reports that Gates has always maintained a close relationship with his "white moonlight" Ann Winblad.
Before marrying Melinda, Gates specifically asked for the permission of his predecessor. Not only that, but the three also reached an agreement: after marriage, Gates can spend a weekend with his ex at a beach house in North Carolina every year.
Just when everyone thought that this was already outrageous, it didn't take long to find out that there was another trigger for their relationship to break.
Melinda said that Gates' dealings with Epstein, a pimp maker, made her very unhappy.
Epstein, a notorious pedophile and "sexual assault tycoon" in the United States, was prosecuted and sentenced for organizing underage girls to provide sexual services to wealthy dignitaries from all walks of life, and died in prison in 2019.
He once bought an island for the captivity of girls under the age of 18 and then flew private jets to bring bigwigs to the island for sex trafficking.
Former US President Clinton, Trump, and British Prince Andrew were all involved in this scandal because they had too close contacts with him, and there was a uproar.
But unlike the big streams, Gates met Epstein only after he had already been identified as a sex offender.
Since 2011, the two have met several times, and Gates often goes in and out of Epstein's mansion.
Melinda went with her once, but she couldn't stand it, feeling that Gates knew the other party's crime, but she had to get close to him, which made her very uncomfortable.
She warned her husband not to associate with such people again, but Gates didn't listen.
Although Gates insisted that he had never done anything illegal in the process, just to expand his network for charity, the incident still left a thorn in Melinda's heart.
After Epstein's death, Melinda watched many media investigations and found that Gates had more contact with him than she thought, and became more and more uneasy, so she planted the seeds of divorce.
03
First formal relationship after divorce
Will it be a new starting point?
If the above is just a media analysis that has revealed many of Gates' unknown secrets, then Melinda's subsequent voice speaks to the more dark side of this marriage.
In an interview last year, Melinda talked openly about divorce and talked about Gates' extramarital affair.
In 2019, Microsoft's board of directors received news that Gates had cheated on a female subordinate of the company in 2000 for 1 year.
Microsoft intervened in the investigation, and the female employee also explained the relationship process. However, before the matter was finalized, Gates voluntarily resigned from the board, and the matter was closed.
It was only at this moment that Melinda learned of her husband's betrayal. "I spent many days lying on the carpet sobbing."
When the host of the interview asked, is it true that there is news that Gates has cheated more than once, and has also pursued the company's financial manager and many female employees of the foundation? Melinda replied meaningfully: "Ask him this." ”
In addition to his ex-wife's "hammer", other people who have intersected with Gates have also come to the scene.
James Wallace, who has written two biographies for Gates, said that Gates' lecherousness is well known in the circle, and when he was studying, he liked to participate in erotic parties and visit the red light district.
All kinds of facts and rumors flew all over the sky, making everyone's impression of Gates hit rock bottom.
Although he confessed to infidelity a year after the divorce and reflected on the mistake of being close to Epstein, the effects of these events still accumulated.
It wasn't until I recently dated a new girlfriend with a good image that everything seemed to be gradually back on track.
Many people praised his choice, seeing too many examples of "men always only love 18 years old", and felt that Gates fell in love with evenly matched peers, which is what the real big guy does.
However, the relationship between the two has just begun, and it is still too early to tell.
For a person who has gained the ultimate wealth and status, feelings may be a game to satisfy the lust for power, or it may be a deal for each to take what he needs. At least previous experience has taught us that believing only in the surface often collapses quickly.
I don't know what the future holds, but hopefully it will be a new and better place to start.
Text, Editor/Strawberry
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