Attorney
This year, Bill Gates is turning 70. Microsoft is celebrating its 50th anniversary. And the Gates Foundation is 25. So Gates is releasing an autobiography called Source Code about his early life.
To promote the book, he sat down with The Times of London for a wide-ranging interview. Curious to see if he would talk about the time he lived in Albuquerque — Microsoft’s original hometown — I gave it a click.
While he must be saving his stories about setting up shop on Route 66 for the book, the article was fascinating. In it, he revealed that the biggest regret of his life is… his divorce.
Some might suspect that it was the reduction in his fortune and subsequent fall from the top of the list of world’s wealthiest individuals that he regrets. But it is the emotional impact of the divorce that was far more devastating. This is something that surprises a lot of the high-asset, business-minded clients the Matteucci Family Law team works with, so I wanted to share it with you.
A Shared Life Lost
As Gates put it, “There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together. When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful — that came during the time that we were together. So, she saw me through a lot. When we got divorced it was tough and then she made the decision to leave the foundation — I was disappointed that she took the option to go off.”
When pressed on whether his divorce is the only failure of his life, Gates replied: “You would have to put that at the top of the list. There are others but none that matter. The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.”
There’s no better expression of the emotional toll divorce takes than this.
Something Money Can’t Buy
You can’t put a price on the connection Gates had to Melinda French. The history and memories they share are still there, but they now must be viewed through a different lens.
And this is someone who had a very private, seemingly amicable divorce. Imagine how much worse it would be if the Gates and French chose to air their grievances in court or duke it out over their vast amount of wealth. (Note that Washington, like New Mexico is a marital property state, so most of the couple’s assets were presumed to be community property subject to a 50/50 split at divorce.)
Serving Families with Dignity & Compassion
Gates’ openness about the emotional impact of his divorce is important. It’s good to hear someone as smart, wealthy, and well-respected as him admit that his split was not painless. And it can be eye-opening to realize even one of the richest people in the world cannot buy happiness.
This is something that sneaks up on a lot of the high-asset, business-owning clients the Matteucci Family Law team assists. As someone who has gotten divorced, and seen his family business impacted by divorce, Attorney Bob Matteucci is well-prepared to discuss the emotional side of divorce as well as the financial one. The two issues go hand in hand, no matter how much money you have in the bank.
If you are contemplating divorce, and want to work with an attorney who can walk you through all aspects of, Bob Matteucci is here to help. Contact him today to set up a meeting.