Bill Gates, an American businessman, and philanthropist, is a billionaire listed as one of the world's wealthiest people. In 1975, Bill and Paul Allen co-founded the tech giant, Microsoft. Bill is also a software developer, an investor, and a published author. He was married to Melinda Gates for 27 years until recently, and they co-founded the non-profit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill and Melinda announced their divorce together a few days ago. They stated unequivocally that they can no longer grow as a couple and that their marriage is irreparably broken. The causes of the breakup inevitably sparked widespread public concern. 

Bill was allegedly having an affair with one of his Microsoft employees. When Bill stepped down last year, the relationship was under close scrutiny, according to reports. 

The company's board became aware of Bill's sexual relationship with employees over the years in 2019 when a woman wrote letters rectifying the situation, Wall Street Journal reported. 

The woman who was allegedly having an affair with Bill demanded that her job at Microsoft be changed. She also asked Bill's wife Melinda (now ex-wife) to read her letters. 

According to the Journal, board members hired a law firm to conduct an investigation into the relationship.  

While the investigation was going on, board members decided that the founder should step down. 

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates attempted to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. The Board committee looked into the issue, with the help of an outside law firm, and conducted a thorough investigation. Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern throughout the investigation.” 

 The relationship was confirmed by a Gates spokeswoman. She quickly added that it had ended mutually 20 years ago. She, on the other hand, denied that Bill's stepping down in the company had anything to do with this topic. 

Bill allegedly had numerous sexual relationships with his employees, which Nadella (the current CEO of Microsoft) and other executives were aware of. 

The Journal report comes on the heels of another published on Sunday, which detailed how Gates "pursued" several women in his office long after he married his now-divorced wife Melinda in 1994. 

According to the New York Times, the tech billionaire clumsily asked out women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

 It's unclear how much Melinda knew about her husband's actions. 

The couple announced earlier this month that they were ending their 27-year relationship. When Bill's ties to convicted pedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public in 2019, it appears Melinda hired divorce attorneys, leading to the recent separation announcement.