New York Times journalist Anupreeta Das pulls back the curtain on the private life of Microsoft founder Bill Gates in a shocking exposé set to hit shelves.
Das says that–as outlined by Daily Mail–Gates’ interactions with female employees at Microsoft raised eyebrows.
One former senior employee even described him as “like a kid in a candy store” at the office.
The upcoming book, “Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World,” paints a picture of a tech mogul whose alleged infidelities and questionable behavior with women reportedly strained his marriage to Melinda French Gates.
The book claims that young interns were eventually barred from being alone with Gates due to his alleged flirtatious behavior.
The author suggests that Gates’ calendar often included blocks of time for unexplained personal meetings, raising suspicions.
At one point, Melinda reportedly overhauled her husband’s security team, believing they were “enabling” his behavior.
Das writes that Gates’ alleged infidelities left Melinda “seething for a long time.”
The couple’s marriage, which lasted 27 years and produced three children, reportedly hit a breaking point in 2019 when Gates’ connections to convicted s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein came to light.
Melinda filed for divorce in 2021, calling the marriage “irretrievably broken.”
The book also delves into Gates’ relationship history, including a missed opportunity with tech entrepreneur Ann Winblad.
Despite Winblad’s attempts to “plant the marriage seed,” Gates reportedly spent a romantic weekend at her cottage engrossed in a biography of Henry Ford.
Gates allegedly maintained an arrangement to spend one weekend a year alone with Winblad at her cottage after marrying Melinda, with his wife’s apparent blessing.
Das claims that Gates’ behavior extended beyond Microsoft, alleging that he flirted with interns at the Gates Foundation, creating uncomfortable situations for young employees concerned about their career prospects.
“In one instance a colleague chastised one person for sending a 22-year-old intern to Gates’ office by herself, saying: ‘She’s too young and too pretty,’: Das shared.
The author notes, however, that Gates’ advances were described by witnesses as “clumsy rather than predatory.”
A former Microsoft executive stated, “He’s not Harvey Weinstein… I know of no real situation in which anyone got anything for sleeping with Bill.”
The book suggests that Melinda became increasingly frustrated with her husband’s behavior over time.
She reportedly instructed housekeepers not to give out Gates’ direct number when other women called the house.
Das writes that the couple underwent marital counseling in the early to mid-2000s after the birth of their youngest child. However, Gates allegedly “assumed his behavior would have no consequences” and did not appear to change his ways.
In response to the book’s allegations, Gates’ representatives released a statement to Daily Mail, saying the book relies “almost exclusively on second- and third-hand hearsay and anonymous sources.”
They added, “The book includes highly sensationalized allegations and outright falsehoods that ignore the actual documented facts our office provided to the author on numerous occasions.”
As the tech world and beyond await the book’s release, it remains to be seen how these revelations will impact Gates’ legacy and public image.
