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- Bill Gates was dismissive toward his wife Melinda French Gates in meetings, The New York Times reported.
- According to the report, sources said Gates pursued women at Microsoft while married to French Gates.
- Six former and current employees for Gates said he created an uncomfortable workplace, according to the report.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates was dismissive toward his wife, Melinda French Gates, in work meetings and pursued other women at Microsoft and his other endeavors while the couple was together, according to a Sunday report from The New York Times.
People with knowledge of Gates and his companies and financial dealings told The New York Times that Gates had pursued women who worked for him at Microsoft and at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation while the couple was together, according to the report.
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokesperson for Gates, denied the accusations brought forth in the Times article, telling the outlet, “any claim that Gates spoke of his marriage or Melinda in a disparaging manner is false. The claim of mistreatment of employees is also false. The rumors and speculation surrounding Gates’s divorce are becoming increasingly absurd, and it’s unfortunate that people who have little to no knowledge of the situation are being characterized as ‘sources.'”
On one occasion in 2006, more than a decade he and French Gates wed, he attended a presentation by a female employee of Microsoft and emailed her afterward to ask her to dinner, the Times reported.
“If this makes you uncomfortable, pretend it never happened,” Gates wrote in the email, a source told The Times.
Another woman, whose identity was not published by the Times, said Gates once asked her to dinner while the two were in New York on a trip for their work at the Gates Foundation, the report said.
Sources familiar with Gates’ endeavors also told the outlet that Gates was at times dismissive of French Gates in workplace meetings at the Gates Foundation.
In total, six current and former employees of Gates said he and his actions created a workplace that made them “uncomfortable,” according to the report.
The couple, which met while French Gates was an employee at Microsoft, announced their split May 3 after 27 years of marriage.
Gates’ relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is said to have played a role in the couple’s split, according to the Times report and previous reporting from The Daily Beast.
Read the full report at The New York Times.
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